The  Manual  of 
Successful  Storekeeping 


A  Retailer's  Guide 


By 
W.  R.  HOTCHKIN 

TKAB8  ADVBBTISINO  AND  SALES  MANAGER  FOB  JOHX  WAHAMAKBR.  NEW  TOBK 


Garden  City        New  York 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Company 

1920 


COPYRIGHT,  1915,  AND   IQIQ,  BY 

ASSOCIATED  ADVERTISING  CLUBS  OF  THE  WORLD 

ALL  RIGHTS   RESERVED,   INCLUDING  THAT  OP 

TRANSLATION  INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES, 

INCLUDING  THE   SCANDINAVIAN 


CONTENTS 

:  PAGE 

A  WORD  TO  THE  MERCHANT  IN  THE  SMALL'  TOWN   xix 

CHAPTER 

I.  MID-SEASON  MERCHANDISING    ...  3 

II.  TEACHING  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  ...  10 

III.  ADVERTISING  THAT  GETS  RESULTS.     .  17 

IV.  THE  NEW  EFFICIENCY  IN  MERCHANDISING  24 
V.  MAKING  WINDOWS  TOWN  TALK      .     .  30 

VI.    THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION     .     .       36 

VII.      STARTTHENEWSEASONWITHCONFIDENCE     47 

VIII.  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  HARMONY  AND  EN- 
THUSIASM THROUGHOUT  YOUR  OR- 
GANIZATION   53 

IX.    THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  A  CROWD  ...       59 
X.    BLOUSES:  FASHION'S  QUICKEST  SALES 

WINNER.      . 63 

XI.    THE  EARLY  OCTOBER  BLANKET  SALE  .       69 
XII.    PROTECTING  YOUR  PROFITS  .      ...       75 

XIII.  GETTING  THE  MOST  OUT  OF  MANUFAC- 

TURERS    80 

XIV.  MAKING  "BOOSTERS"  OUT  OF  "  KICKERS"  85 
XV.    PUTTING  EMPHASIS  ON  BARGAINS  WITH- 
OUT USING  BIG  SPACE 91 

XVI.    USING  JIU-JUTSU  IN  MERCHANDISING  .       96 
XVII.    REDUCING  COMPLAINTS  AND  EXPENSES 

IN  YOUR  DELIVERY  DEPARTMENT      .       99 

vii 

M45116 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


CHAPTER 

XVIII.    CARRYING  TOO  MANY  COMPETING 

LINES 105 

XIX.    PLANNING  A  BIG  FEBRUARY  OCCA- 
SION WITH  MANUFACTURERS'HELP  1 10 
XX.     CREATING  DAILY  STORE  INTERBST.  114 
XXL    PLANNING  FOR  CHRISTMAS  .     .     .  119 
XXII.    THE    HOUSEWARMING     FOR    THE 

CHRISTMAS  TOY  STORE     .     .     .  126 
XXIIL    THE  BIGGEST  SALES-MAKING  FAC- 
TOR OF  THE  CHRISTMAS  SEASON  .  130 
XXIV.     GETTING  MONEY  OUT  OF  CHRIST- 
MAS CROWDS 135 

XXV.    MAKINGFRIENDS  WITHNEWLY-WEDS    141 

XXVI.    THE  MONTH-END  SALE  ....     147 

XXVII.     CLEANING  OUT  THE  OLD  STOCK.     .     152 

XXVIIL     CONDUCTING  A  PRIZE  FANCYWORK 

CONTEST     . 158 

XXIX.     PROMOTING  BUSINESS  IN  MARCH    .     163 

XXX.    MAKING  EASTER  TIME  SELL  MORE 

GOODS 168 

XXXI.    TRAINING  RETAIL  SALESPEOPLE     .     173 

XXXII.  A  SOLUTION  OF  THE  CHARGE  AC- 
COUNT PROBLEM 181 

XXXIII.  THE  MAY  FAIR 187 

XXXIV.  How  TO  GET  NEW  CUSTOMERS       .     192 

XXXV.  KNOW  WHAT  YOUR  COMPETITORS 
ARE  DOING,  DON'T  UNDERESTI- 
MATE THEM  .  .  .  .  .  .  198 

XXXVI.    How   ADVERTISING    ADDS   VALUE 

TO  MERCHANDISE        ....     204 
viii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXXVII.    GET   GOOD   SALESPEOPLE — POOR 

ONES  COST  TWICE  AS  MUCH    .     209 
XXXVIII.    MEETING  THECOMPETITION  OF  THE 

GREAT  MAIL  ORDER  HOUSES   .     215 
XXXIX.    DISCOVER  YOUR  STORE'S  WEAK- 
NESSES— THEN  ELIMINATE  THEM   221 
XL.    PUT  YOURSELF  INTO  YOUR  AD- 
VERTISING       227 

XLI.    AN  EQUITABLE  BONUS  SYSTEM    .     232 
XLII.    THE  JULY  CLEARANCE  SALE  .      .     239 
'XLIII.    BEWARE  WHEN  THE  CROWS  CALL 

"OUT  OF  STOCK"      ....     244 
\  XLIV.    WAYS  TO  KEEP  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE 

INTERESTED 249 

XLV.    Is  YOUR  BUILDING  SELLING  AS 

MUCH  GOODS  AS  IT  MIGHT?     .     255 
XLVI.    WHAT  Is  IN  YOU?  262 


IX 


THE  MANUAL  OF 
SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 


CHAPTER  I 
MID-SEASON  MERCHANDISING 

I  have  written  this  book  to  help  you  sell  the  goods 
you  have  in  stock  and  coming.  They  are  good  and 
fine,  and  you  were  mighty  enthusiastic  about  them 
or  you  wouldn't  have  bought  them. 

Let's  keep  that  enthusiasm  in  our  own  systems,  and 
also  get  it  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  sales- 
people, and  then  get  it  into  the  Advertising. 

You  certainly  SELECTED  with  care  all  the  goods 
you  have  in  stock.  You  bought  them  because  YOU 
LIKED  THEM,  because  you  thought  they  were  the 
BEST  YOU  HAD  SEEN,  after  thoroughly  searching  the 
market. 

Tell  your  salespeople  THAT — with  all  the  EN- 
THUSIASM you  have.  Give  THEM  some  of  your  en- 
thusiasm— something  TO  SELL  WITH.  Then  tell  your 
enthusiasm  in  whatever  Advertising  you  do.  Let  the 
public  know  why  you  bought  the  goods,  why  you 
think  they  are  the  best.  Don't  forget  that  YOUR 
CUSTOMERS  rely  as  much  upon  YOUR  OPINION  AND 
JUDGMENT  as  the  doctor's  patients  rely  upon  his 
medical  skill  and  knowledge. 

First  of  all,  HAVE  CONFIDENCE  IN  YOURSELF — be- 

3 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

cause  the  public  (your  part  of  it,  at  least)  has  con- 
fidence in  you,  or  you  couldn't  stay  in  business.  You 
believe  you  hove  the  BEST  POSSIBLE  GOODS  FOR  THE 
NI:V  SEASON.  Your  public  BELIEVES  IN  YOU.  Now 
go  to  it,  and  teil  them  why  your  goods  are  BEST. 
Tell  them  all  the  desirable  qualities  about  them  THAT 
THE  SALESMAN  TOLD  YOU  when  you  bought  them. 
Tell  these  things  to  your  salespeople;  tell  them  to 
your  customers  at  the  counter;  tell  them  in  your 
Advertising. 

The  same  argument  that  sold  the  goods  to  you 

WILL   SELL  THEM   TO   YOUR   PUBLIC — if  told   with   the 

same  skill  and  ENTHUSIASM  as  were  used  by  the  sales- 
man who  sold  you.  But  don't  let  that  selling  argu- 
ment and  that  enthusiasm  DIE  IN  YOUR  PRIVATE 
OFFICE.  Don't  put  the  secret  information  under  lock 
and  key,  and  DON'T  EXPECT  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  TO 

BE  MIND  READERS  BLESSED  WITH  SECOND  SIGHT. 

You  must  HELP  THEM,  or  they  can't  help  you. 

I  am  going  to  say  a  lot  more  about  helping  your 
salespeople  a  little  later.  Now  I  want  to  say  some 
more  about  your  merchandise : 

Are  your  counters  filled  with  NEW  goods,  or  are 
they  littered  up  with  the  OLD  THINGS  that  you  think 
you  must  force  out  first?  I  sincerely  hope  NOT.  If 
such  should  be  the  case,  ACT  QUICKLY  NOW. 

GET  THE  OLD  GOODS  OUT  OF  SIGHT,  or  they  will  force 
your  customers  out.  Every  OLD  thing  that  you  show 
in  mid-season  is  a  SCARECROW  to  your  customers.  It 
is  like  a  BLOT  on  a  sheet  of  writing  paper — a  great 

4 


MID-SEASON  MERCHANDISING 

GREASE  SPOT  on  the  beautiful  white  table  linen — a 
PATCH  on  your  clothing — a  WART  on  your  face.  Get 
the  old  goods  OUT — out  off  the  shelves — out  of  sight 
—out  of  the  store. 

Perhaps  you  wonder  how  I  expect  you  to  get  them 
out  of  the  store  if  you  keep  them  out  of  sight.  Here 
is  the  secret:  get  all  the  old  goods  out  of  your 
shelves,  and  AWAY  FROM  THE  REGULAR  COUNTERS — 
so  nobody  sees  them  but  BARGAIN  HUNTERS.  Don't 
insult  your  REGULAR  CUSTOMERS  by  showing  the  old 
things.  Make  REMNANTS  or  odd  lots  of  the  old  things, 
and  put  them  on  SPECIAL  counters — AWAY  FROM  THE 
NEW  GOODS:  and  mark  SUCH  LOW  PRICES  ON  THEM 
that  the  bargain  hunters  will  take  them  away  in  a 

jiffy. 

Plenty  of  people  are  glad  to  buy  old  goods  IF  THEY 
ARE  CHEAP  ENOUGH.  Don't  worry  about  the  losses 
on  OLD  goods,  but  DO  worry  about  the  losses  on  your 
new  goods  that  the  old  goods  may  cause.  Get  SOME- 
THING out  of  the  old  things,  but,  for  goodness'  sake, 

GET  THEM  OUT  OF  YOUR  STORE  and  STOP  THEM  from 

telling  bad  tales  about  your  merchandise  and  your 
storekeeping. 

Give  your  NEW  GOODS  a  chance  to  DO  THE  TALKING. 
Let  your  bright,  fresh,  beautiful  NEW  STOCKS  make 
people  say  how  fine  your  store  is,  and  what  a  delight 
it  is  to  look  at  your  goods.  Perhaps  you  think  your 
store  DOES  look  fine.  Perhaps  you  have  just  had  it 
all  fixed  up  for  the  new  season.  ARE  YOU  SURE  THAT 
YOU  CAN'T  MAKE  IT  LOOK  STILL  BETTER? 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  greatest  danger  to  good  storekeeping  is  in 
BEING  SATISFIED.  It  is  so  easy  for  our  eyes  to  get 
used  to  bad  things,  and  then  not  be  able  to  see  them. 
Suppose  we  take  another  look  at  things.  Let's  be 
hypercritical  ourselves,  then  others  can't  find  any- 
thing to  criticise.  Let's  make  it  impossible  to  over- 
look anything  because  you  have  grown  accustomed 
to  it. 

Start  right  down  at  the  front  Entrance.  Is  the 
doorknob  bright — the  hardware  clean?  Is  the  glass 
in  door  and  windows  absolutely  clear — or  is  it  cloudy 
and  dull?  Is  there  dust  or  cakey  old  dirt  on  the 
doorsill  or  in  the  cracks?  Go  inside.  Do  the 
counters  need  polishing?  Are  the  fixtures  dull  and 
dusty?  How  are  the  decorations  above  the  fixtures? 
Take  a  couple  of  hours  and  go  over  every  foot  of  the 
store,  every  piece  of  goods — every  wire,  rack,  chair. 
Make  everything  clean  and  bright.  Then  study  your 
decorations.  Are  they  NEW?  Or  are  they  the  same 
old  ideas  that  were  used  years  ago?  Be  critical.  Be 
very  thorough.  Make  things  RIGHT. 

Next:    Are  the  NEW  GOODS  OUT  WHERE  THEY  CAN 
BE  SEEN?     Or  are  they  kept  under  the  counter  or 
wrapped  up  in  a  box  WHERE  NOBODY  CAN  SEE  THEM— 
for  fear  the  dust  will  soil  them?     DON'T  MAKE  THAT 
MISTAKE. 

Let  your  new  goods  BE  SEEN — while  they  ARE  NEW. 
Better  get  them  soiled,  and  THEN  reduce  them,  than 
to  let  them  be  hidden  away  until  they  turn  yellow, 
and  have  to  be  reduced  anyhow — after  having  done 

6 


MID-SEASON  MERCHANDISING 
no  good  for  the  store.     While  they  are  out  on  display 

THEY  ARE  DOING  MIGHTY  GOOD  WORK  FOR  YOU,  EVERY 

MINUTE,  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  see  them — even  if  they 
do  get  soiled.  And  they  will  doubtless  be  sold  before 
you  would  expect. 

But  goods  MUST  BE  SEEN  to  be  sold  at  all.  While 
people  will  come  in  and  ASK  for  staple  things,  they 
NEVER  ask  for  novelties,  for  they  often  don't  know 
that  such  things  exist — unless  they  see  them  right 
before  their  eyes. 

Who  will  ever  discover  that  you  have  fine  things 
if  they  can't  be  found  without  hiring  a  detective  to 
ferret  them  out  and  FORCE  your  salespeople  to  di- 
vulge the  SECRET  that  you  have  them  packed  away 
so  carefully.  Don't  hide  your  light  under  a  bushel, 
or  bury  your  talent  in  a  napkin.  Bring  out  ALL 
your  FINE  GOODS  and  make  a  great  Opening  Exhi- 
bition. Stir  up  every  head  of  stock  to  make  the 
finest  displays  of  NEW  GOODS  that  your  store  has  ever 
known.  OFFER  A  PRIZE  of  $10  or  $25  to  the  de- 
partment head  who  makes  the  finest  showing.  Don't 
be  afraid  of  the  cost  or  the  precedent.  You'll  be 
amazed  to  discover  what  a  marvellous  developer  of 
genius  a  little  cold  cash  can  be. 

Some  of  the  best  store  people  that  I  have  ever 
known  have  never  discovered  what  they  really  could 
do  until  some  EXTRA  INCENTIVE  set  them  digging 
deeper  into  their  gray  matter  than  they  had  ever  gone 
before.  Then  they  found  out  how  much  more  they 
could  do  than  they  ever  believed  themselves  capable 

7 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

of.  We're  ALL  the  same  way.  Something  has  to 
open  our  eyes — smash  through  the  shell  into  our 
inner  consciousness — and  let  us  know  that  we  CAN 
do  bigger  and  better  things. 

If  you  paid  a  premium  of  $5  each  to  a  hundred 
people,  to  have  them  do  a  certain  thing  with  special 
care,  you  would  find  that  it  was  not  half  as  well 
done  as  when  you  offered  a  Prize  of  $25  that  only 
ONE  could  win.  And  the  cost  of  the  Prize  would  be 
only  one  twentieth  as  much ! 

First,  it  is  because  the  CHANCE  is  so  much  greater 
for  the  winner;  but,  chiefly,  it  is  because  of  the  CON- 
TEST— giving  your  people  a  game  to  play — creating 
the  incentive  for  each  TO  EXCEL' the  other  contest- 
ants. The  great  secret  of  getting  extraordinary  work 
done  is  TO  PUT  IT  ON  A  COMPETITIVE  BASIS.  As 
true  in  trade  as  in  all  human  endeavor.  If  you 
can  arouse  this  spirit  of  CONTEST,  and  KEEP  IT 
ALIVE,  you  will  be  amazed  at  what  may  be  accom- 
plished— in  keeping  your  store  in  better  condition,  in 
increasing  your  sales,  in  having  your  customers  served 
more  courteously,  in  preventing  waste  and  needless 
expense. 

After  your  merchandise  is  ALL  beautifully  displayed 
—your  windows  all  handsomely  decorated  with  NEW 
things — after  your  people  are  all  stimulated  to  high- 
est ENTHUSIASM — put  your  advertisement  in  the 
papers,  and  FILL  IT  WITH  THE  ENTHUSIASTIC  SPIRIT 
that  the  whole  occasion  inspires.  Have  it  artisti- 
cally illustrated.  Write  a  live,  interesting  story  about 

8 


MID-SEASON  MERCHANDISING 

your  newly  decorated  store  and  the  beautiful  new 
merchandise — and  watch  the  New  Goods  SELL,  and 
listen  to  the  fine  things  that  people  will  say  about  YOU 
and  Your  Store. 

Start  the  Good  Work  TO-DAY — NOW. 


9 


CHAPTER  II 
TEACHING  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE 

Don't  scold — TEACH  your  people. 

Don't  be  a  slave  driver — be  a  LEADER.  Many 
otherwise  good  stores  fail  of  large  success  because 
they  do  not  realize  the  value  of  properly  teaching 
their  salespeople.  The  merchant  will  employ  people 
at  the  smallest  wages  possible,  and  then  expect  each 
clerk  to  have  all  the  intelligence  of  a  manager  or 
buyer.  A  fine  purchase  of  goods  will  be  made,  and 
the  stocks  put  on  counters  and  shelves,  and  nobody 
says  a  word  to  the  salespeople  about  WHAT  they  are 
or  WHY  they  were  bought. 

The  merchant,  or  the  buyer,  thinks  that  the  $5  or 
$6  a  week  clerks  will  have  second  sight  or  expert 
knowledge  enabling  them  to  sell  the  goods  right  out 
at  a  big  profit.  If  the  goods  do  not  sell,  the  boss  gives 
the  salespeople  a  ripping  up  for  being  woodenheads. 

This  is  the  time  that  the  merchant  should  take 
HIMSELF  back  to  his  private  office,  and  tell  himself  a 
thing  or  two.  NINE  merchants  out  of  ten,  and  the 
same  proportion  of  department-store  buyers,  are 
grossly  GUILTY  of  sheer  negligence  in  this  matter  ALL 
THE  TIME.  The  manager  with  a  "big  head"  is  often 

10 


TEACHING  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE 

a  pinhead  as  a  merchant.  Many  of  them  think  that 
it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  talk  to  mere  salespeople — 
except  when  they  give  them  a  cussing  out :  and  very 
few  merchants  take  up  this  matter  themselves.  But, 
after  a  moment's  thought,  you  must  agree  that 
NOTHING  is  more  important  to  successful  business 
than  that  your  salespeople  should  be  well  trained  and 
well  informed  about  the  merchandise. 

Few  merchants  know  more  than  a  fraction  of  their 
customers.  Few  managers  are  always  on  the  floor, 
looking  out  for  the  good  service  of  the  customers, 
but  the  salesperson  is  ALWAYS  there,  and  the  sales- 
person makes  the  store's  reputation.  All  the  unseen 
knowledge  and  courtesy  of  the  merchant  or  the 
buyer  is  as  nothing  to  the  customer,  who  never,  or 
rarely,  sees  either.  But  the  store  is  JUDGED  ABSO- 
LUTELY by  the  intelligence  and  knowledge  of  the 
salesperson. 

Nine  times  out  of  ten  the  salesperson  knows  only 
what  her  poor  little  five-dollar-a-week  brain  can  think 
up  for  itself.  Hundreds  of  so-called  smart  merchants 
won't  bother  telling  the  salesperson  the  things  that 
are  so  vital  for  her  to  know  FOR  FEAR  SHE  WILL  WANT 
A  RAISE  IN  WAGES  !  They  won't  give  the  girl  a  CHANCE 
to  help  them. 

You  MUST  have  the  earnest,  intelligent  help  of  all 
your  salespeople  if  you  are  looking  for  large  success. 
You  must  also  have  ENTHUSIASTIC  work  for  them. 
All  of  these  things  are  vital,  and  all  can  be  secured  if 
you  go  about  it  right. 

11 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

First,  you  must  show  your  people  that  you  respect 
them.  You  must  recognize  their  intelligence,  then 
appeal  to  it.  You  must  show  confidence  in  them. 
You  must  educate  them,  because  there  are  no  schools 
where  the  knowledge  may  otherwise  be  gained.  You 
must  exhibit  plainly  and  frequently  to  them  your 
own  enthusiasm  about  your  store  and  your  merchan- 
dise, so  that  they  may  absorb  it  and  use  it.  Nothing 
is  more  contagious  than  enthusiasm,  but  most  mer- 
chants and  buyers  keep  so  far  away  from  their  sales- 
people that  they  couldn't  catch  smallpox  from  them, 

Now,  you  are  all  ready  for  a  big  season's  business. 
Now  is  the  time  to  stimulate  your  salespeople.  No 
matter  how  you  have  treated  them  before,  take  them 
into  your  confidence  NOW.  Call  a  meeting  of  the 
force  for  an  early  hour  to-morrow.  Tell  them  frankly 
all  about  the  importance  of  their  work  to  the  suc- 
cess of  your  business.  Don't  scold  them  for  what 
they  have  NOT  done  in  the  past,  for  that  would  spoil 
your  meeting.  Compliment  them  and  THANK  them 
for  what  they  have  done,  but  tell  them  that  you 
know  they  can  do  a  great  deal  better,  and  that  you 
want  to  help  them.  Tell  them  what  the  new  season 
means  to  you  and  to  them.  Tell  them  what  the 
public  expects  from  your  store  and  from  them.  Give 
them  a  few  minutes'  talk  on  Courtesy  and  Service. 
Then  talk  about  the  new  goods.  Tell  them  how 
enthusiastic  you  were  when  you  bought  them  or  when 
the  buyers  told  you  about  them.  Tell  them  every  good 
thing  you  know  about  them — how  Smith  got  this  and 

12 


TEACHING  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE 

how  Jones  got  that.  Why  each  is  so  good,  and  how 
something  else  was  gotten  so  cheaply. 

Tell  them  what  the  new  fashions  are,  and  why. 
If  you  don't  know  these  things,  study  them  up  in 
your  trade  papers  and  in  the  fashion  magazines. 
But  learn  them,  and  teach  your  salespeople.  You'll 
be  amazed  to  see  how  enthusiastic  they  are  about 
it,  and  you'll  marvel  to  see  how  much  better  work 
they'll  do — how  much  more  eagerly  they  will  do  it, 
and  how  much  happier  everybody  will  be  with  the 
day's  work.  You'll  make  new  men  and  women  out 
of  them — just  by  showing  that  you  recognize  them 
as  human  beings  first;  then  by  showing  your  con- 
fidence in  them  and  your  dependence  upon  them. 
You'll  give  them  something  more  to  live  for.  And 
you'll  have  INTELLIGENT  people  working  for  you 
instead  of  woodenheads. 

Then  take  your  buyers  and  managers,  and  tell 
them  what  they  must  do  to  give  your  people  a  thor- 
ough education.  Compel  every  buyer  to  have  fre- 
quent meetings,  when  he  will  teach  his  people  all  about 
his  merchandise.  Compel  him  to  tell  them  all  about 
every  new  thing  that  comes  into  his  department. 
Have  him  tell  them  just  WHY  he  bought  the  goods, 
why  they  are  best,  how  they  are  used  and  what  with 
—so  that  the  salespeople  may  use  the  same  selling 
arguments  to  their  customers  that  the  original  sales- 
man used  in  selling  the  goods  to  your  buyer  or  to 
you. 

What  is  the  use  of  buying  a  fine  collection  of  dress 

13 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

goeds  in  the  new  fashionable  shades  if  your  sales- 
people don't  know  all  about  the  fashion  and  why 
those  shades  are  in  stock?  What  is  the  use  in  hurry- 
ing in  a  fine  new  lot  of  millinery  trimmings  if  the 
girls  don't  know  how  they  should  be  worn  on  the 
hats,  or  why?  What  is  the  use  in  having  pure  white 
cotton  in  a  mattress  if  nobody  ever  knows  that  it  is 
white? 

Why  have  goose  down  in  a  quilt  if  nobody  knows 
that  it  isn't  filled  with  chicken  feathers  or  cotton? 

Educate,  Educate,  EDUCATE! 

Don't  think  that  it  makes  too  much  work.  Noth- 
ing else  will  do  so  much  to  increase  your  business, 
and  certainly  nothing  else  can  compare  with  it  in 
making  your  profits  bigger.  You  can  make  big  profits 
on  novelty  goods  only  by  selling  them  when  they 
are  NEW.  And  they  can  be  sold  quickly  only  if  the 
salespeople  know  what  to  tell  the  people  who  want 
them.  People  will  want  them  only  when  they  hear 
the  real  story  of  what  they  are,  and  WHY  they  are 
the  thing  to  buy.  Only  TRAINED  and  WELL-INFORMED 
salespeople  can  tell  them. 

RIGHT  NOW  is  the  time  when  your  salespeople 
MUST  know  all  about  your  fine  merchandise.  Right 
now  they  must  be  filled  full  of  enthusiasm  and  good 
selling  arguments.  You  can't  delegate  this  to  any- 
body else,  for  nobody  else  will  believe  in  its  impor- 
tance. Perhaps  somebody  else  can  TALK  better  than 
you,  but  YOU  must  be  present  to  see  that  it  is  rightly 
done  and  to  lend  your  personal  presence  to  impress 

14 


TEACHING  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE 

the  salespeople  with  the  importance  of  the  occasion 
and  what  is  being  said  to  them. 

When  you  once  start  this  educational  work  you 
will  be  surprised  how  much  you  learn  yourself  by 
trying  to  teach  others.  You  will  be  amazed  to  see 
how  your  own  ideas  develop.  You  will  begin  to  take 
infinitely  greater  pleasure  in  your  business.  Your 
mind  will  open  wider  than  ever  before,  and,  as  you 
come  to  see  your  people  more  closely,  you  will  enjoy 
helping  them  in  their  work,  because  you  will  be  a 
LEADER  of  an  army  that  you  have  trained,  and  you 
will  enjoy  seeing  how  well  they  are  doing  their  work. 

Then  the  work  will  be  so  vastly  more  efficient  that 
you  will  be  proud  of  your  organization,  and  the  pub- 
lic will  take  more  interest  in  you,  and  you  will  be 
given  a  kind  of  credit  that  will  be  wonderfully  gratify- 
ing to  you.  Best,  in  another  way,  you  will  make 
fast  friends  of  your  customers  by  the  better  service 
rendered,  and  that  will  mean  great  growth  of  your 
business,  and  vastly  better  profits. 

I  wish  I  could  tell  you  in  detail  all  the  things  that 
are  so  vital  to  be  done,  in  teaching  your  people,  but 
that  is  impossible  and  quite  unnecessary.  You  can 
do  all  this  yourself  perhaps  better  than  I  could  tell 
you.  I  will  have  accomplished  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant objects  of  this  Book  if  I  can  impress  you  with  the 
INTENSE  IMPORTANCE  of  this  endless  subject.  Every- 
thing else  that  I  am  trying  to  tell  you — all  the  other 
features  that  seem  to  be  of  such  great  value — may 
fail  entirely  if  you  do  not  have  the  work  intelli- 

15 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

gently  supported,  day  by  day,  by  well-trained  and 
well-informed  salespeople. 

You  do  not  need  to  go  to  technical  schools  to  secure 
them.  You  do  not  even  have  to  pay  them  high 
\vages.  But  you  must  reward  them  fairly,  you  must 
treat  them  kindly  and  as  human  beings.  You  must 
show  your  confidence  in  them.  And  you  must  teach 
them,  and  keep  them  fully  informed  about  the  mer- 
chandise they  are  selling — all  the  time.  The  cost 
will  be  small,  the  effort  not  too  great,  and  THE  BENEFIT 
TO  YOURSELF  will  be  infinitely  greater  than  it  will  be 
to  the  people  you  teach. 

Call  the  first  meeting  for  to-morrow  morning,  while 
the  good  impulse  and  inspiration  are  on  you. 


16 


CHAPTER  III 
ADVERTISING  THAT  GETS  RESULTS 

Advertising  is  the  true  MOTIVE  POWER  of  any  store, 
anywhere — even  in  the  crossroads  store  that  has  no 
competitor.  The  crossroads  store,  that  people  MUST 
go  to  to  get  things,  can  make  people  COME  OFTENER, 
and  BUY  MORE  when  they  come,  by  doing  clever  ad- 
vertising. The  Storekeeper  can  send  out  handbills 
by  his  boy  or  by  the  postman,  or  he  can  tell  the  fanner 
passing  his  store  to  tell  the  women  he  sees  that  the 
Storekeeper  has  just  gotten  in  a  new  lot  of  dress  goods, 
toweling,  or  winter  shoes. 

Advertising  is  simply  sending  out  word  to  your 
public  about  your  new  goods  or  your  special  offer- 
ings. But  every  bit  of  advertising  you  do  should 
have  REAL  LIFE  to  it.  There  should  be  a  reason  for 
it,  and  it  should  convey  a  definite  IDEA.  The  store 
that  simply  lists  goods  in  its  advertising  is  not  only 
WASTING  ITS  OPPORTUNITIES,  but  it  is  exploiting  the 
fact  to  the  world  that  it  is  a  dead  and  unprogressive 
store.  It  is  far  better  to  have  NO  advertising  at  all 
than  to  print  commonplace  stories  about  ordinary 
merchandise. 

The  FIRST  necessity  for  Good  Advertising  is  to  have 

17 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

SOME  EVENT  to  exploit  OF  SOHie  EXCEPTIONAL  MER- 
CHANDISE to  tell  about.  Good  Advertising  cannot 
get  its  initiative  out  of  the  brain  of  the  Advertising 
Man — no  matter  how  clever  he  is.  First  of  all,  there 
MUST  be  a  STORY  TO  TELL.  Cleverness  cannot  create 
this  story,  but  true  cleverness  can  take  a  REAL  STORY, 
and  not  only  increase  the  sales  tremendously,  but 
make  it  add  another  quota  of  prestige  and  good  will 
to  the  assets  of  the  store. 

GOOD    ADVERTISING     HlUSt     Start     With    THE     FIRM. 

Of  course,  this  work  MAY  be  delegated  largely  to  the 
Merchandise  Manager  in  big  stores,  where  mer- 
chandise men  are  BIG  men  and  REAL  MERCHANTS. 
But  no  ACTIVE  store  owner  will  ever  delegate  this  im- 
portant matter  ENTIRELY  to  any  representative.  He 
will  have  constant  interest  in  all  store  promotion  work; 
for  it  is  the  VERY  LIFE  of  his  business — his  IMMEDIATE 
PROFITS,  as  well  as  the  future  GROWTH  of  his  business* 

Advertising  must  TELL  REAL  NEWS.  It  need  not  and 
should  not  be  always  about  Bargains.  I  should  say  that 
HALF  the  advertising  of  any  store  should  tell  about  the 
NEW  goods  at  regular  prices.  But  it  should  tell  REAL 
NEWS  about  them.  The  writer  should  have  the  nec- 
essary imagination  to  put  LIVE  HUMAN  INTEREST  into 
the  story  that  is  told.  Advertising  is  efficient  SALES- 
MANSHIP IN  PRINT.  It  MUST  have  the  SELLING  quality. 

The  writer  of  advertising  must  be  a  good  salesman. 
I  had  many  years  of  ACTUAL  SELLING  behind  the 
counter.  I  was  always  pushed  forward  when  a  cus- 
tomer who  was  "hard  t®  sell"  approached  the 

18 


ADVERTISING  THAT  GETS  RESULTS 

counter.  It  was  a  game  to  me.  Just  like  hunting 
or  fishing.  The  harder  the  game  was  to  catch,  the 
more  eager  I  was  to  land  the  fish.  This  instinct  of 
SALESMANSHIP  must  either  exist  in  the  advertising 
writer,  or  it  must  be  acquired.  The  cleverest  WRITER 
in  the  world  has  absolute  limitations  in  his  adver- 
tising if  he  cannot  put  THE  SELLING  PUNCH  into  what 
he  writes.  The  goods  advertised  MUST  BE  SOLD,  or 
at  least  partly  sold,  WHILE  THE  ADVERTISEMENT  is 
BEING  READ.  In  STORE  advertising  especially,  the 
reader  must  be  convinced  that  she  wants  the  goods 
advertised  BEFORE  SHE  EVER  GETS  INTO  THE  STORE. 

The  writer  of  REAL  SALESMANSHIP  ADVERTISING 
must  FEEL  what  he  writes.  He  must  first  be  con- 
vinced that  his  story  is  a  good  one.  Then  he  must, 
by  the  written  and  printed  words,  COMPEL  interest 
and  action  on  the  part  of  the  reader.  The  INTENSITY 
that  he  puts  into  what  he  writes  will  be  in  the 
message  that  is  read.  Perfunctory  advertising  is 
A  WASTE  OF  NEWSPAPER  SPACE.  It  may  let  people 
know  you  have  a  store,  and  sell  drygoods,  but  it  tells 
also  that  yours  is  a  very  DRY  store. 

This  message  will  go  into  many  a  store  that  has 
splendid  advertising  written  by  a  forceful,  wide- 
awake advertising  man.  He  will  be  encouraged  to 
learn  that  he  is  on  the  right  track.  But  it  will  also 
go  to  scores  of  advertising  men  who  never  actually 
sold  a  dollar's  worth  of  goods  in  their  lives.  These 
are  the  men  whom  this  Book  should  help. 

Spend  as  much  time  as  you  can,  right  at  the  coun- 

19 


MANUAL  OF   SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

ters,  where  the  best  salesmen  are  talking  to  their 
customers.  Hear  what  the  salesman  says.  See  what 
intensity  he  puts  into  the  CLOSING  of  a  sale.  Get 
that  FIRMNESS  OF  TOUCH  into  your  advertising.  Be 
CONVINCING.  Be  LOGICAL.  Don't  be  trivial.  Don't 
write  anything  foolish.  Always  be  SERIOUS,  so  as 
to  compel  your  readers  to  TAKE  YOU  SERIOUSLY. 

When  you  start  to  write  an  advertisement,  analyze 
the  goods  thoroughly.  Get  every  point  in  your 
mind.  Talk  to  the  buyer.  MAKE  him  or  her  tell 
you  all  about  the  strong  points  of  the  goods.  Make 
the  buyer  SELL  his  goods  to  YOU.  Then  you  will 
get  the  real  argument.  If  the  buyer  is  dumb  and 
doesn't  seem  to  know  what  to  say,  tell  him  you  think 
his  offering  is  mighty  poor.  THAT  may  sting  him 
to  say  the  thing  you  ought  to  be  told. 

When  you  get  the  buyer  real  MAD,  he'll  tell  you 
mighty  quick  how  good  his  stuff  is.  Perhaps  he'll  tell 
you  how  little  you  know  about  it,  but  that  will  make 
him  tell  what  he  didn't  seem  to  know  how  to  tell 
before.  Then  you  can  tell  him  why  you  had  to 
make  him  mad.  I've  had  to  do  this  continuously. 
But  YOU  must  NEVER  get  mad.  You  must  continu- 
ously depend  upon  the  buyers,  just  as  they  depend 
upon  you.  But  the  best  buyers  are  often  the  hardest 
to  get  a  good  story  out  of.  And  you  must  know 
THAT  STORY  before  you  can  write  a  good  advertise- 
ment. 

Be  HONEST  in  your  advertising.  People  are  not 
FOOLS.  Thousands  of  stores  print  stuff  in  the  papers 

20 


ADVERTISING  THAT  GETS  RESULTS 

that  they  would  not  dare  to  put  into  words  in  the 
presence  of  their  customers.  How  silly  that  is. 
Do  you  think  that  people  can  be  fooled  in  print  by 
words  that  would  make  them  laugh  at  you  if  spoken 
to  their  face?  No,  sir;  they  LAUGH  AT  YOU  or  cuss 
YOU  when  they  read  the  paper.  And  what  you 
print  IN  YOUR  COSTLY  NEWSPAPER  SPACE  has  little 
influence  with  them,  because  they  DON'T  BELIEVE  YOU! 

Thousands  of  stores  all  over  this  continent  are 
WASTING  VALUABLE  NEWSPAPER  SPACE  seven  days  a 
week  by  filling  it  with  stuff  THAT  NOBODY  BELIEVES  ! 
You  might  just  as  well  take  a  full  page  of  space,  and 
print  right  in  the  middle  of  it,  in  the  biggest  type  in 
the  office:  "WE  ARE  LIARS — Come  in  and  get 
cheated.  Smith-Jones  Dry  Goods  Co."  And  per- 
haps the  very  honesty  of  the  statement  would  pack 
your  store.  "Playing  people  for  suckers"  is  very 
poor  business,  and  dishonest  advertising  is  the  MOST 
EXPENSIVE  policy  that  foolish  storekeeping  permits. 

The  most  VALUABLE  ASSET  that  any  store  can  pos- 
sess is  the  CONFIDENCE  of  the  public,  and  confidence 
can  NEVER  be  gotten  by  subterfuge.  Advertising 
that  is  ABSOLUTELY  HONEST,  seven  days  a  week,  all 
year  round,  has  a  MARVELLOUS  POWER.  It  always  has 
the  public  respect.  Then,  when  you  have  an  extraor- 
dinary story  to  tell,  PEOPLE  BELIEVE  IT,  and  you 
reap  the  reward.  Forgetting  the  matter  of  morals  or 
religion,  and  considered  merely  from  a  strictly  busi- 
ness (money-making)  point  of  view,  there  never  has 
been  a  sounder  business  maxim  stated  than  this: 

21 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

"HONESTY  is  THE  BEST  POLICY."  The  dishonest 
stores  come  and  go — usually  into  bankruptcy,  but 
the  HONEST  STORES  thrive  and  grow  great  in  spite  of 
all  aggravating  tricky  competition. 

This  Book  will  go  to  many  stores  that  do  little 
newspaper  advertising.  Some  use  handbills.  All 
use  store  cards,  or  should  use  them.  The  handbill 
should  be  just  as  carefully  written  and  the  offerings 
just  as  carefully  prepared  as  though  a  thousand 
dollars  was  paid  for  the  space  to  print  them  in.  YOUR 

WHOLE     BUSINESS     REPUTATION    IS     built    Upon    your 

advertising. 

Why  I  know  Sunday-school  superintendents,  con- 
gressmen, and  other  very  eminent  and  otherwise 
respectable  men,  whose  public  reputations  are  dis- 
colored by  the  advertising  they  do.  And  they  do 
it,  not  because  they  are  actually  dishonest,  but  be- 
cause they  think  it  is  so  common  to  do  it  that  it  isn't 
a  crime.  And  they  don't  know  what  an  injury  it 
does  to  their  personal  reputations. 

Now  I  want  you  to  take  a  careful  look  at  some  of 
your  past  advertising — in  newspapers,  in  bills,  in 
catalogs.  Take  it  home  in  the  evening  if  you  haven't 
time  during  the  day.  Does  it  show  REAL  SALESMAN- 
SHIP in  the  way  it  is  written?  Do  you  think  it  would 
really  COMPEL  people  to  come  to  your  store?  Does 
it  seem  to  be  filled  with  inspiring  ENTHUSIASM  about 
your  store  and  your  goods?  Is  it  well  printed?  Does 
it  look  like  the  store — YOUR  STORE?  Or  is  it  dull 
and  cheap  looking?  Are  you  a  little  ashamed  of  it? 

22 


ADVERTISING  THAT  GETS  RESULTS 

Please  don't  blame  your  advertising  man.  Blame 
YOURSELF.  Go  down  into  your  store  and  DIG  UP 
SOME  REAL  NEWS.  Find  some  NEW  goods,  and  stir 
up  some  genuine  ENTHUSIASM  about  them.  Get 
up  a  REAL  LIVE  story,  and  put  some  SELLING  PUNCH 
into  it.  Then  dig  up  some  REAL  BARGAINS.  Don't 
be  afraid  to  LOSE  SOME  MONEY  once  in  a  while.  He 
that  saveth  his  profits  shall  lose  them. 

Right  NOW  is  the  time  to  get  public  attention  IN 
THE  STRONGEST  POSSIBLE  WAY.  Make  people  know 
that  your  store  is  ALIVE.  The  little  money  that 
you  will  lose  on  your  REAL  BARGAINS  may  turn  the 
attention  of  your  whole  town  to  your  store,  and 

KEEP  IT  TURNED  ON  YOU  through  the  ENTIRE  SEASON. 

See  that  the  bargains  are  written  up  in  the  strong- 
est possible  way.  Tell  NOTHING  but  the  truth,  but 
tell  THE  WHOLE  TRUTH.  Don't  leave  out  any  good 
strong  point.  Don't  be  afraid  to  take  enough  space 
to  do  it  impressively.  Then  HAVE  THE  GOODS  when 
the  people  come.  Don't  disappoint  them.  Don't 
say,  "We  are  just  out — sorry  you  didn't  get  here 
earlier,"  for  that  means  sticking  a  knife  into  your 
business. 

In  Advertising,   BE   HONEST.     BE   ENTHUSIASTIC. 

Put    SELLING    FORCE    into    it.       Put    HUMAN    NATURE 

into  it.     Make  it  AS  ATTRACTIVE  AS  POSSIBLE.     Keep 

EVERLASTINGLY  AT  IT.      Then  LIVE  UP  TO  IT. 


23 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  NEW  EFFICIENCY  IN  MERCHANDISING 

There  has  been  a  revolution  in  merchandising 
during  the  past  five  years.  Many  of  the  new  ideas 
were  unknown  and  unthought-of  ten  years  ago,  ex- 
cept in  the  most  isolated  instances.  The  big  buyer 
of  the  old  days  was  rated  by  the  quantities  of  goods 
that  he  could  buy  on  one  order  for  one  shipment, 
and  it  seemed  to  be  the  chief  ambition  of  buyers  to 
place  tremendous  orders.  Those  were  the  days  when 
storekeeping  was  easy,  competition  was  easy,  and 
money  was  easy  with  the  public.  To-day  an  entirely 
new  condition  exists.  Competition  is  tremendously 
keen;  the  most  powerful  allurements  must  be  held 
out  to  the  public  to  make  them  buy,  because  stores 
have  educated  them  to  be  hard  to  please. 

The  cost  of  doing  business  has  mounted  up  tremen- 
dously as  one  big  institution  after  another  has  added 
to  its  conveniences  and  service  and  its  attractions  to 
the  public.  The  realization  of  the  growing  cost  of 
doing  business  has  made  it  vitally  necessary  to  im- 
prove the  methods  of  merchandising.  Capital  has 
had  to  learn  to  make  bigger  profits. 

Of  recent  years  merchants  have  learned  that  their 

24 


EFFICIENCY  IN  MERCHANDISING 

profits  are  made  on  their  turnovers,  and  a  large 
part  of  the  cost  of  doing  business  can  be  blamed  on 
idle  capital  tied  up  in  slow-selling  stock,  or  stock  that 
has  been  foolishly  purchased  in  larger  volume  than 
can  be  quickly  distributed.  If  the  stock  is  turned 
over  twelve  times  a  year  the  gross  profit  can  be  multi- 
plied by  twelve.  If  it  is  turned  over  only  twice  a 
year  it  can  only  be  multiplied  by  two.  In  the  latter 
case  the  cost  of  the  capital  is  six  times  what  it  is 
in  the  former  case,  which  means  that  the  same  capital 
if  turned  twelve  times  a  year  could  finance  six  stores 
of  the  same  size  as  it  can  finance  when  its  merchandise 
is  turned  over  only  twice  a  year.  This  simple  fact  has 
only  been  slowly  realized  by  merchants,  and  is  to-day 
comprehended  by  only  a  very  small  number  of  buyers. 

Any  stock  that  does  not  turn  four  times  a  year  is  a 
parasite  on  the  business  and  losing  money  for  the 
firm.  Some  stocks  by  reason  of  the  service  they 
render  to  customers  or  by  the  prestige  they  build  for 
the  store  might  deserve  to  exist  without  producing  a 
profit,  but  no  stock  when  its  service  or  prestige  is  not 
clearly  shown  should  be  permitted  to  exist  unless  it 
makes  four  turnovers  in  a  year.  Many  stocks  in 
live  stores  turn  over  twelve  times  a  year.  Some 
stocks  can  be  maintained  in  a  healthy  condition  and 
turn  twenty  times  a  year,  while  keeping  assortments 
in  good  condition. 

The  efficient  buyer  will  so  analyze  his  merchandise 
and  his  outlet  that  he  will  be  able  to  schedule  his 
requirements  among  his  various  lines  to  time  the 

25 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

arrival  of  shipments  of  merchandise  so  that  practi- 
cally all  of  it  will  be  sold  out  within  a  month  after  its 
arrival  and  a  great  deal  of  it  within  a  week  or  ten 
days  after  it  is  placed  behind  the  counters.  For 
instance,  he  finds  that  of  a  certain  article  he  sells 
six  to  eight  gross  each  week.  The  old-fashioned 
way  would  be  to  order  one  hundred  gross,  billed  and 
shipped  at  one  time.  In  this  case  the  order  should 
be  placed  for  ten  gross,  to  be  shipped  every  ten  days, 
or  if  the  article  is  packed  twelve  gross  in  a  case,  have 
a  case  shipped  every  two  weeks.  This  would  pre- 
vent any  stock  from  being  congested,  it  would  keep 
capital  from  being  tied  up,  a  part  of  the  bill  might  be 
paid  three  months  later  than  would  be  necessary 
under  the  old-fashioned  method  of  ordering  one 
hundred  gross  at  a  time. 

No  city  in  America  is  so  far  from  the  market  as  to 
make  urgent  cause  for  buying  large  quantities  of 
merchandise  except  on  the  very  rarest  occasions. 
It  is  always  easy  to  BUY  merchandise.  It  is  some- 
times tremendously  difficult  to  sell  merchandise. 
When  one  hundred  articles  are  bought  for  a  period  of 
selling  that  would  require  sixty,  there  is  always  the 
fatal  incentive  to  mark  down  the  price  and  waste 
the  profit,  for  the  reason  that  it  causes  goods  to 
give  an  appearance  of  lagging  in  their  sale. 

Many  an  article  that  is  falsely  considered  of  slow 
sale  would  be  found  to  be  a  healthy  producer  of  sales 
and  profits  if  purchases  were  limited  more  exactly 
to  the  quantities  demanded. 

26 


EFFICIENCY  IN  MERCHANDISING 

One  of  the  largest  fixed  charges  of  any  store  is  the 
interest  it  must  pay,  either  to  its  creditors  or  the 
owners,  on  the  amount  of  capital  required  to  run  the 
business;  but  this  interest  charge  is  insignificant 
compared  with  the  wasteful  congestion  of  stocks  and 
the  loss  of  enthusiasm  among  customers  and  sales- 
people over  goods  that  lay  on  the  shelves  too  long; 
and  the  greatest  loss  of  all  comes  from  the  creation  of 
the  habit  of  marking  down  prices — a  habit  that  in- 
variably exists  in  stocks  where  goods  sell  less  rapidly 
than  they  are  bought.  To  illustrate  this  particular 
point:  there  is  a  line  of  hosiery,  the  normal  sale  of 
which  is  six  dozen  pairs  a  week.  It  is  a  staple  quality 
always  wanted  by  a  certain  class  of  trade.  The 
store  cannot  afford  to  be  without  it.  The  buyer 
purchases  this  hosiery  in  one  hundred  dozen  lots — a 
quantity  that  will  last  four  months!  The  boxes  get 
soiled  and  broken  and  the  line  comes  to  be  looked  on 
as  a  poor  seller.  If  this  were  purchased  for  ship- 
ments of  twelve  dozen  every  two  weeks  it  would  be 
continuously  selling  out,  and  the  buyer  and  sales- 
people would  consider  it  one  of  the  very  live  stocks 
and  a  good  seller,  and  they  would  never  think  of 
reducing  the  price.  The  regular  customers  for  this 
hosiery  would  never  expect  to  buy  it  at  a  reduced 
price.  On  the  other  hand,  even  at  a  reduced  price 
people  who  did  not  want  this  particular  kind  of 
hosiery  might  consider  it  a  very  poor  bargain. 

Instances  of  this  sort  are  multiplied  throughout  the 
stocks  of  every  store,  and  OVERBUYING  is  continu- 

27 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

ously  depreciating  the  value  of  good  merchandise, 
and  seriously  cutting  down  and  wasting  the  profits  of 
many  a  good  business.  Only  the  old-fashioned 
buyer  any  longer  takes  pride  in  giving  big  orders. 
To-day  the  modern  merchant  gives  small  value  to  the 
ability  and  skill  of  any  buyer  who  does  not  recognize 
turnover  conditions  and  the  profit  value  of  buying  in 
small  quantities  with  frequent  deliveries. 

A  buyer's  reputation  to-day  depends  on  the  volume 
of  goods  he  can  sell  in  a  year,  the  number  of  turnovers 
he  can  make,  the  amount  of  net  profit  that  he  shows 
on  the  goods  sold,  and  finally  on  how  well  he  can  con- 
trol his  stocks  and  bring  them  to  the  smallest  possible 
volume,  without  hurting  business,  at  inventory  time. 

Another  pernicious  habit,  wasteful  of  the  profit  of 
a  store,  comes  from  marking  down  goods  just  to  make 
an  advertisement.  This  policy  completely  disorgan- 
izes the  confidence  of  your  salespeople  as  well  as  of 
the  public.  The  customer  never  knows  on  what  day 
it  is  unsafe  to  make  a  purchase. 

The  modern  method  of  merchandising  requires  a 
buyer  to  make  frequent  SPECIAL  PURCHASES  of  goods 
of  standard  quality,  bought  under  price  so  that  they 
may  be  sold  as  a  genuine  bargain  offering,  and  still 
maintain  the  regular  margin  of  profit  for  the  store. 
This  method  not  only  produces  the  very  strongest 
advertising,  but  it  fortifies  the  salespeople's  confidence 
in  the  goods  and  prices,  and  when  a  customer  makes 
the  frequent  remark,  "I  guess  I'll  wait  until  this 
goods  is  reduced,"  the  salesperson  can  say,  "But, 

28 


EFFICIENCY  IN  MERCHANDISING 

Madam,  this  is  our  REGULAR  STOCK  and  will  not  be 
reduced  in  price  until  we  are  ready  to  close  out  the 
the  line." 

This  method  establishes  confidence  in  the  minds  of 
the  public  and  the  salespeople,  and  it  creates  a  very 
definite  and  valuable  respect  for  the  store's  regular 
merchandise.  The  store  that  operates  upon  thi? 
method  continuously  protects  its  regular  mark-up 
profits  and  never  suffers  the  humiliation  of  discover- 
ing, after  a  year  of  large  volume  of  sales,  that  it  has 
made  no  profits. 


29 


CHAPTER  V 
MAKING  WINDOWS  TOWN  TALK 

Few  stores  realize  the  tremendous  selling  value  and 
prestige-making  value  of  their  windows.  Even  the 
most  wide-awake  big  city  stores  fall  short  of  getting 
the  most  out  of  them.  Almost  all  stores  arrive  at  a 
certain  idea,  or  a  certain  standard,  and  stay  there- 
doing  much  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again. 

CHANGE — direct,  positive,  radical  change — is  of 
vital  importance.  Some  of  the  finest  stores  in  New 
York  retain  almost  the  same  effect,  year  in  and  year 
out.  Yet  the  windows  are  always  beautiful — some 
are  superb.  But  even  the  most  beautiful  windows 
lose  their  power  of  commanding  attention  when  the 
same  impressive  elegance  is  presented  in  much  the 
same  way  week  after  week.  An  Altman  or  a  Tif- 
fany may  do  this,  but  stores  that  seek  the  favor  and 
attention  of  the  great  buying  public  must  use  their 
windows  differently.  They  must  COMMAND  ATTEN- 
TION constantly.  They  must  keep  people  curious 
to  know  what  is  being  shown  TO-DAY.  This  means 
constant  CHANGE  and  real  LIVE  attractions  and 
strong  human  interest. 

Windows  are  marvellously  strong  selling  factors 

30  " 


MAKING  WINDOWS  TOWN  TALK 

if  the  right  goods  are  shown  and  they  are  rightly 
displayed.  But  commonplace  goods  are  no  worse 
than  commonplace  methods  of  displaying  them. 
Do  your  windows  compel  the  crowds  to  stop  and  look 
at  them?  Or  do  people  rush  right  past  them? 

Study  to  be  ORIGINAL  in  your  window  attractions. 
Don't  waste  this  great  power  by  doing  conventional 
things  in  the  old,  matter-of-fact  way.  Work  up 
NEW  IDEAS  every  time.  Of  course,  it  is  hard  to  do 
this.  But  nothing  big  is  ever  easy.  And  if  your 
competitor  is  taking  it  easy,  that  is  YOUR  chance  to 
make  rings  around  him. 

Study  to  make  a  REAL  SENSATION  every  time  you 
put  in  a  window.  It  isn't  easy,  but  IT  CAN  BE  DONE 
—and  BY  YOU.  It  may  be  done  by  exhibiting  the 
BIGGEST  DOLL  ever  shown  in  your  city.  Or  it  may 
be  the  SMALLEST  DOLL — so  small  that  people  can 
scarcely  see  it.  Put  it  on  a  pedestal,  and  place  a 
big  reading  glass  in  front  of  it  so  that  they  can  dis- 
cover it.  Don't  you  think  everybody  that  passes 
your  store  will  go  home  and  talk  about  the  marvel- 
lously LITTLE  doll  that  you  are  showing  THROUGH 

A  MAGNIFYING  GLASS? 

Again,  think  of  the  sensation  that  could  be  made 
in  a  window  of  Housewares  by  showing  a  furnished 
kitchen,  with  a  kitchen  cabinet,  on  the  shelf  of  which 
is  shown  a  LIVE  MOUSE,  in  a  trap,  running  a  reel. 
Can't  you  imagine  the  crowds  that  would  gather  in 
front  of  the  window — calling,  perhaps,  for  the  police 
force  to  make  room  for  people  to  get  by? 

31 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

These  suggestions  are  made  to  show  what  SIMPLE 
devices  may  be  used  to  create  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  interest.  Large  expense  is  quite  un- 
necessary for  most  of  the  year.  It  is  the  IDEA  that 
counts.  And  the  idea  should  be  in  keeping  with  the 
goods  exhibited.  The  mouse  has  a  direct  affinity 
for  the  kitchen,  and  common  as  it  is  to  find  a  mouse 
in  the  trap  at  home,  it  is  a  SENSATION  to  see  it  used 
in  a  store  window. 

There  are  scores  of  these  INEXPENSIVE  ideas  to  be 
discovered.  It  isn't  GENIUS  that  is  required.  It  is 
THOUGHT — with  a  little  ingenuity — and  commonsense 
in  the  application — so  that  practical  selling  results 
may  be  secured.  The  mouse  would  be  a  poor  subter- 
fuge to  use  to  attract  attention  to  a  display  of  jewelry 
or  women's  dresses;  but  a  pantry  is  the  LOGICAL  place 
to  find  a  mouse,  so  that  it  not  only  looks  natural  there, 
but  will  cause  the  people  who  view  it  to  admire  the 
ingenuity  of  the  store  in  thinking  of  putting  it  there. 

Mechanical  toys  are  commonplace,  but,  if  intelli- 
gently chosen  and  used  in  some  unique  manner,  they 
have  a  never-failing  public  interest.  And  yet,  a  box 
of  kittens,  or  a  puppy  dog,  before  a  fireplace,  in  a 
furniture  setting,  will  get  infinitely  greater  atten- 
tion and  cause  a  hundred  times  more  talk.  LIFE 
is  the  greatest  of  all  attractions.  A  LIVING  PER- 
FORMER, or  demonstrator,  may  be  used  with  dignity 
in  a  window,  if  the  demonstrator  acts  NATURALLY. 
But  such  an  attraction  may  become  intolerably 
cheap  looking  if  not  done  exactly  right. 

32 


BLUE 

BROWN 

CREAM 

GREEN 

GRAY 

HELIO 

LAVENDER 

MAROON 

MYRTLE  NAVY  •* 

Blue  .» 

..  Good 

Good 

Strong 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair 

Fair 

Weak    •-« 

Brown  
Cream 

Good 

Good 

..Good 

Weak 

Good 

strong 
Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Green  

Strong 

Fair 

'Good 

....Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair    . 

Weak 

Fair 

Gray  

Good 

Fair 

Weak 

Good 

....  Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good       i 

Helio  

Bad 

Strong 

Good 

Bad 

Good 

....Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad        1 

Lavender  

Bad 

Strong 

Good 

Bad 

Good 

Weak 



...Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Maroon  

Fair 

Weak 

Good 

Fair 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

.Fair 

Fair        1 

Myrtle  

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Weak 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair 



Good       i 

Navy  

Weak 

Good 

Good 

Fair 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair 

Good 

Nile  ..... 

....  Bad 

Fair 

Good 

Weak 

Good 

Bad 

Fair 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Olive  

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Weak 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair 

Weak 

Good       i 

Orange  

Strong 

Weak 

Good 

Fair 

Good  <*6  Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Strong 

Strong     • 

rurpie  
Red  

...Fair 

Weak 

Good 

Strong 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Fair 

Fair 

Salmon  ... 

Fair 

Weak 

Good 

Strong 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Strong 

Strong     « 

Sky  Blue  

....-Fair 

Good 

Good 

Bad 

Good 

Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Good 

Tan  

..Good 

Bad 

Weak 

Fair 

Bad 

Good 

Good 

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Wine       

Fair 

Weak 

Good 

Fcir 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Fair 

Good 

Yellow  

Strong 

Bad 

Weak 

Bad 

Fair 

Strong 

Btd 

Strong 

Bad 

Stroo£ 

NILE 

OLIVE 

ORANGE 

PURPLE 

RED 

SALMON 

SKY  BLUE 

TAN 

WINE 

YELLOW 

Blue  

Bad 

Fair 

Fair 

Strong 

Won  If 

Weak 

Fair 

Fair 

U.,.,1, 

Weak 

f  fifiH 

Good 

Fair 

Strong 

Cream  

.    ..Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Weak 

Good 

Weak 

Green  

Weak 

Weak 

Fair 

Strong 

Strong 

Strong      Bad 

Fair 

Fair 

Bad 

Cray.  

....Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Bad 

Good 

Fair 

Helio  ~ 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Good 

Bad 

Strong 

Lavender  

Fair 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Good 

Bad 

Bad 

Maroon..  

Bad 

Fair 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Fair 

Weak 

Strong     m 

Myrtle  
Navy  

....  Bad 
....  Bad 

Weak 
Good 

Strong  . 
Strong 

Strong 
Weak 

Fair 
Fair 

Strong 
Strong 

Bad 

Good 

Good 
Good 

Fair 
Good 

Bad 

Strong 

Nile  
Olive  :  

.   ..Weak 

..Weak 

Bad 

Strong 

Bad 
Bad 

Bad 
Bad 

Fair 
Bad 

Weak 
'Bad 

Fair 
Weak 

Bad 

Weak 

Bad 
Bad 

Orange  

...  Bad 

Strong 

Strong 

Weak 

Wezk 

Bad 

Fair 

Bad 

Bad 

Purple  
Red  

...Bad 
...Bad 

Bad 
Bad 

Strong 
Weak 

Weak 

...Weak 

Bad 

...Weak 

Bad 
Bad 

Good 

Good 

Weak 
Weak 

Strong 
Strong 

Salmon  -. 
Sky  Blue  

Fair 
Weak 

Bad 

Bad 

Weak 
Bad. 

Bad 
Bad 

Weak 
Bad 

Fair 

...Fair 

Good 
.Good 

Bad 
Bad 

Bad 
Fair 

Tan  

...  Fair 

Weak 

V  •>'• 

Fair 

Rait 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 



-Good 

Weak 

Sfrnntr 

Yellow    ....... 

Bad 

Bad 

Bad 

Strong 

Strong 

Bad 

Fair 

Weak 

Strong 

This  chart  shows  which  colors  are  good  in  combination.     The  contrasting  and 
harmonizing  combinations  are  also  shown 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

dows  would  be  closed  for  several  days  while  the 
decorations  were  being  made.  It  caused  a  big  sensa- 
tion. 

Some  years  ago  the  report  was  spread  through  a 
certain  city  that  a  certain  store  was  in  bad  financial 
condition.  Nothing  was  further  from  the  truth; 
but,  when  the  rumor  had  travelled  far,  the  firm  was 
shrewd  enough  to  take  advantage  of  the  condition. 
On  Friday  night  the  curtains  were  drawn  down  tight, 
and  a  sign  was  placed  in  every  window  (outside  the 
shade)  stating  that  the  store  would  be  closed  until 
Monday  morning,  while  stocks  were  being  prepared 
for  the  Sale  to  begin  on  Monday.  No  statement 
about  anything  else  was  made.  No  newspaper 
story  was  written  or  printed.  Rumor  made  the 
Sale,  and  the  Windows  alone  exploited  it.  So 
no  untruth  was  used  or  necessary.  The  store 
was  simply  mobbed  all  the  next  week,  and  did  the 
biggest  business  in  its  history  for  the  period  of 
time. 

Windows  are  simply  marvellous  if  cleverly  used. 

Going  back  to  the  suggestion  of  CHANGE:  the 
clever  window  dresser  will  skilfully  alternate  his 
KINDS  of  windows.  If  a  very  dignified  window  is  used 
one  week — to  give  "class"  and  prestige  to  the  store 
—he  will  come  back  the  next  week  with  a  window 
that  is  quite  the  opposite — creating  a  startling  change. 
For  instance,  one  week  might  show  a  refined  and 
elegant  setting  of  rich  Silks.  The  week  following  he 
might  build  an  automobile  of  Bedspreads — filling 

34 


MAKING  WINDOWS  TOWN  TALK 

up  the  window,  and  making  thousands  of  people 
marvel  at  his  ingenuity. 

RING  THE  CHANGES  RAPIDLY — and  create  your 
startling  effects  by  RADICAL  CONTRASTS.  Then  people 
KNOW  that  the  window  decoration  is  new,  and  they'll 
soon  begin  to  walk  around  your  way  to  see  what 
you  have  in  the  window.  THEN  the  value  of  your 
store  property  will  be  vastly  greater,  and  people 
who  are  interested  in  your  windows  will  develop 
vastly  greater  interest  in  your  STORE  and  YOUR 
GOODS. 

MAKE  YOUR  WINDOWS  WORK  FOR  YOU.  Don't 
let  them  get  commonplace.  Don't  let  the  back- 
ground get  old  and  dirty  any  more  than  the  new 
decorations.  Keep  them  clean  and  bright  and  smart 
looking.  And  keep  your  window  decorators  keyed 
up  to  the  highest  pitch  all  the  time.  Don't  leave 
them  to  think  it  all  out  themselves.  You  must  keep 
them  out  of  the  rut.  TEACH  THEM  TO  THINK. 

Get  IDEAS  into  your  windows.  Don't  be  satisfied 
unless  you  are  making  the  whole  City  TALK  ABOUT 

YOUR  WINDOWS. 


35 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

This  important  event  cannot  be  counted  under 
the  head  of  new  suggestions,  for  it  is  almost  as  old 
as  Thanksgiving  Day  dinner.  But  some  things  are 
greater  than  Originality.  Who  can  invent  greater 
holidays  than  "The  Fourth  of  July"  and  "Christ- 
mas?" 

The  "Fall  Opening,"  under  whatever  name  you 
call  it,  is  an  Annual  Occasion  filled  with  splendid 
opportunities  for  the  wide-awake  merchant.  Its  cele- 
bration should  never  be  omitted.  New  events  will 
come  and  go,  but  "The  Fall  Opening"  is  a  definite 
and  valuable  fixture  in  the  calendar  of  the  well- 
promoted  store. 

The  First  week  of  October  provides  the  ideal  date. 

I  have  worked  for  many  important  and  successful 
openings,  and  seen  many  others.  Chiefly  the  effort 
is  made  on  Ready-to-Wear  garments,  often  to  the 
neglect  of  other  important  merchandise  sections. 
Certainly  the  Fashion  Display  must  always  have  a 
foremost  position  on  such  an  occasion  because  of  its 
spectacular  possibilities;  but  I  believe  that  it  is  a 
mistake  to  make  it  "the  whole  show,"  because  there 

36 


THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

is  so  very  much  more  that  should  be  done.  It  is 
vital  that  the  importance  of  other  departments  shall 
be  made  as  impressive  as  possible  at  this  time,  and 
this  cannot  be  done  if  they  are  pushed  into  the  back- 
ground on  "Opening  Day."  This  is  why  my  sug- 
gestion for  a  truly  GREAT  Fall  Opening  is  made  to 
INCLUDE  THE  WHOLE  STORE.  I  want  you  to  plan  the 
most  elaborate  Exhibition  of  New  Merchandise  that 
you  have  ever  made,  IN  EVERY  DEPARTMENT  IN  YOUR 
STORE.  I  want  to  help  you  to  create  such  an  im- 
pression of  fine,  big,  handsome  stocks  as  your  public 
has  never  had  in  the  past.  Let's  make  them  think 
that  your  store  is  finer  and  more  interesting  than 
they  have  ever  thought  it  to  be.  Let's  make  the 
merchandise  look  so  desirable  and  tempting  that 
THEY  SIMPLY  MUST  BUY.  Let's  make  your  competi- 
tors' stocks  look  cheap  and  tawdry  in  comparison. 
Let's  have  the  Notion  Department  look  as  fine  as  the 
Dresses  or  the  Silks — and  it  can  be  done — you've 
seen  it  done,  and  so  have  I.  START  TO-DAY  to  plan 
and  prepare  the  Special  Features. 

The  Problem  is — "How  to  be  Original."  How 
to  present  this  routine  business  occurrence  in  an 
absolutely  NOVEL  way.  A  great  many  subterfuges 
are  constantly  being  tried.  One  store  will  simply 
employ  an  orchestra  and  decorate  with  beautiful 
flowers — merely  giving  a  beautiful  setting  to  the 
merchandise.  Another  store  will  employ  vaudeville 
performers  to  attract  crowds.  There  are  several 
circus  managers  who  cater  largely  to  big  stores. 

37 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Some  stores  organize  big  street  parades,  with  brass 
bands  and  store  cadets. 

These  things  have  never  appealed  to  me.  I  be- 
lieve that  it  is  a  serious  mistake  to  divert  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  from  the  merchandise  itself.  Of 
course,  these  "stunts"  draw  big  crowds,  and  many 
stores  have  no  other  ambition  than  to  be  notorious 
and  to  be  talked  about — no  matter  how.  I  have 
always  contended  that  the  store  should  attract  its 

public  BY  ITS  MERCHANDISE. 

If  I  owned  a  store  and  wanted  to  sell  goods,  I 
would  have  no  ambition  to  get  my  name  in  the  paper 
as  the  producer  of  a  funny  circus,  or  as  being  able  to 
have  airships  drop  my  circulars  into  the  fields.  I 
wouldn't  want  to  feel  that  I  had  to  hire  singers, 
performing  bears,  or  vaudeville  performers  to  get 
people  into  my  store.  THAT  is  not  the  kind  of  people 
I  would  want  in  MY  store.  I  would  want  to  have 
people  respect  me  as  a  MERCHANT.  I  would  want 
to  pack  my  store  with  people  who  wanted  to  see  my 
attractive  collections  of  NEW  MERCHANDISE. 

My  experience  at  Wanamaker's  and  at  Gimbel's 
has  proven  conclusively  that  NOTHING  else  has  such 
compelling  interest  for  women,  and  MEN,  TOO,  as  a 
clever  exhibition  of  New  Fashions — especially  if  dis- 
played on  living  models.  Of  course  there  are  thou- 
sands of  stores  that  could  not  afford  to  purchase 
enough  handsome  gowns  to  make  such  a  display. 
But  there  is  a  way  to  overcome  that  difficulty. 

The  manufacturers  from  whom  you  buy  your 

38 


THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

regular  stock  can  be  influenced  to  LOAN  A  BEAUTIFUL 
COLLECTION  OF  COSTUMES  to  you  for  your  Exhibition 
Week.  Of  course,  they  may  say  "No"  at  first,  but 
if  you  make  it  a  positive  stipulation  when  you  make 
your  purchases,  the  thing  can  be  done.  Of  course, 
no  one  concern  can  loan  you  enough  fine  suits  and 
costumes  for  your  entire  exhibition,  but  EACH  CON- 
CERN THAT  YOU  BUY  FROM  should  be  induced  to  send 
you  "ON  MEMORANDUM"  several  much  finer  gowns 
than  you  would  ordinarily  buy. 

You  will  probably  be  surprised  to  find  how  easy 
it  is  to  sell  a  number  of  these  fine  garments,  and  the 
makers  will  not  need  to  take  all  of  them  back.  Apply 
this  method  to  all  your  stocks  for  your  big  Opening 
Exhibition.  Have  the  concerns  you  purchase  goods 
from  send  on  Memorandum  several  dress  lengths 
of  elaborate  silks  and  finest  novelty  dress  goods. 
Get  a  group  of  very  elaborate  Blouses.  Have  a 
group  of  extreme  novelties  in  Shoes  and  Slippers,  in 
Hosiery,  in  Women's  Neckwear.  Go  through  every 
stock,  in  the  same  manner,  and  provide  for  each  an 
exhibition  collection.  Then  you  will  have  something 
amazing  to  advertise  to  your  public,  and  they  will 
have  a  wonderful  and  most  unusual  exhibition  to 
see.  It  will  lift  the  prestige  of  your  store  immediately, 
and  you  will  be  delighted  to  find  how  many  people 
will  be  glad  to  buy  these  fine  things  when  they  have 
the  chance.  So,  while  you  do  not  have  to  under- 
take the  risk  of  loss  on  the  fine  exhibition  things, 
you  will  discover  that  you'  may  be  able  to  actually 

39 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

sell  almost  half  of  the  goods  that  you  have  bor- 
rowed. 

Of  course,  it  may  not  be  easy  to  secure  all  this 
merchandise  in  this  way,  but  if  you  absolutely  refuse 
to  place  any  orders  with  the  concerns  who  do  not 
extend  this  courtesy  to  you,  you  will  secure  what  you 
want.  But  do  not  let  them  treat  you  like  the  man 
that  took  orders  for  staple  goods  at  a  big  cut  below 
the  market  price,  in  order  to  get  other  orders  at  full 
prices.  Then,  when  the  order  was  filled,  everything 
was  shipped  except  the  bargain  goods,  and  when 
inquiry  was  made,  the  reply  was  that  they  would  be 
sent  later,  and  further  demand  only  brought  the 
statement  that  it  was  impossible  to  ship  the  goods 
used  as  bait.  Let  every  concern  understand  most 
positively  that  if  they  fail  to  help  you  in  this  plan,  or 
break  their  promise  to  you,  that  they  need  never  ex- 
pect another  order  from  you — AND  STICK  TO  IT. 

Modern  storekeeping  is  a  big  fight,  every  day,  if 
biggest  success  is  to  be  secured.  Nothing  out  of  the 
ordinary  comes  without  tremendous  effort.  Some 
stores  get  tremendous  advantage  over  their  competi- 
tors because  they  are  eternally  fighting  for  lower 
prices,  bigger  discounts,  longer  datings,  special  lots, 
and  such  courtesies  as  are  suggested  above.  And 
selling  competition  is  so  keen  that  the  stores  are 
bound  to  get  what  they  demand,  if  they  fight  hard 
enough  for  it. 

Time  the  arrival  of  all  this  "Memorandum"  goods 
to  reach  you  only  a  few  days  before  your  Exhibition 

40 


THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

— so  that  you  will  not  keep  them  away  from  the 
concerns  that  supply  them  for  any  longer  time  than 
possible.  Of  course,  your  own  merchandise  must  not 
be  set  back  for  the  borrowed  goods.  Mix  it  in  a 
way  to  get  the  greatest  possible  advantage  from  the 
association,  and  let  prices  do  the  selling.  In  addition 
to  getting  fine  merchandise  for  your  Opening,  try 
and  get  all  the  expert  selling  assistance  that  various 
manufacturers  are  glad  to  supply  if  plans  are  made 
far  enough  ahead.  Some  of  the  Women's  Apparel 
makers  will  send  young  women  models,  if  you  are  not 
too  far  away.  Some  of  the  travelling  salesmen  will 
be  present  and  give  splendid  help  if  their  travels  are 
in  your  neighborhood  at  the  time.  Corset  makers 
will  send  demonstrators.  Manufacturers  of  cooking 
utensils  will  send  demonstrators  to  make  things  inter- 
esting in  that  section. 

If  all  these  things  are  intelligently  planned  far 
enough  ahead,  you  will  be  able  to  present  an  event 
vastly  more  attractive  than  a  County  Fair — all 
under  your  own  roof — bringing  in  the  best  kind  of 
customers — not  only  producing  large  immediate  sales 
but  adding  tremendously  to  your  store's  prestige, 
lifting  you  above  competition,  and  making  all  the 
best  people  want  to  buy  your  goods. 

Of  course,  you  will  need  to  have  good,  strong  ad- 
vertising to  let  the  public  know  what  you  are  doing, 
and  to  emphasize  the  difference  between  such  an 
Exhibition  as  you  are  now  presenting  and  the  ordi- 
nary Spring  Opening  of  the  usual  store.  This  ad- 

41 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

vertising  should  be  headed  by  a  thoroughly  artistic 
picture  and  a  well-written  editorial  about  your  store 
and  the  extraordinary  preparations  that  you  have 
made. 

With  the  extra  things  that  you  will  do  to  make 
this  Exhibition  greater  than  any  other  ever  seen  in 
your  city,  you  should  study  to  make  it  quite  Original 
in  plan  and  decorations.  If  you  have  a  store  dec- 
orator, he  will  think  out  some  theme  that  suits 
your  conditions  and  store  arrangements.  Some  stores 
will  work  on  the  latest  Paris  motif  in  fashions,  in 
which  matter  the  fashion  magazines  and  the  trade 
publications  will  give  correct  suggestions.  But  the 
bright  and  clever  decorator  will  make  a  historic 
setting,  or  take  the  thought  from  some  great  literary 
subject,  such  as  Priscilla,  Marie  Antoinette,  Cricket 
on  the  Hearth,  or  some  less  serious  subject. 

All  of  these  details  require  full  consideration  of 
your  owTn  conditions  and  facilities,  as  well  as  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  people  to  whom  you  are  catering.  A 
high-grade  store  will  do  one  thing,  and  a  store  that 
appeals  to  the  masses  may  do  something  quite  dif- 
ferent. The  chief  point  that  I  am  trying  to  make 
here  is  to  start  YOU  thinking  for  yourself.  These 
ideas  may  only  suggest  criticism,  but  they  will  at 
once  lead  the  person  who  is  critical  to  think  of  some- 
thing that  is  much  better  for  his  own  particular 
store.  I  will  have  done  a  great  deal  if  I  can  inspire 
you  to  think  a  little  more  and  a  little  more  deeply 
than  you  would  have  thought  without  my  help. 

42 


THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

Now  make  your  plans  to  get  up  a  corking  Exhibi- 
tion that  will  amaze  the  people  of  your  town  or  city, 
and  put  into  it  so  many  live  features  that  everybody 
will  be  talking  about  your  store  for  months  to  come 
or  until  you  give  them  something  else  to  think  about. 

Start  at  once  to  get  ENTHUSIASM  AROUSED  all  over 
the  store.  THAT  is  the  most  important  thing  that 
we  have  to  do — for  this  event  is  so  big  and  far- 
reaching,  that  EVERY  HAND  and  heart  in  your  whole 
organization  must  do  a  share  to  make  it  a  success. 
Call  a  Meeting  of  all  of  your  Buyers  and  their  as- 
sistants, with  the  Advertising  Manager  and  the 
General  Manager — together  with  your  brightest  store 
people  and  the  Decorators.  Tell  them  what  a  great 
event  you  are  planning,  and  get  them  enthused  with 
the  tremendous  possibilities  of  the  occasion,  so  that 
they  will  work  heartily  with  you  and  contribute 
ideas  as  well  as  decorative  effort.  Call  on  your 
livest  people  to  tell  you  right  in  the  meeting  what 
they  would  suggest  in  the  various  departments — 
encourage  them  to  talk,  and  make  them  think  that 
THEY  are  doing  the  planning — then  they  will  work 
doubly  hard  to  carry  out  the  plans. 

Instruct  every  buyer  and  department  manager 
to  put  down  on  paper,  during  the  day,  a  list  of  the 
things  that  he  will  do  in  his  department,  and  the 
merchandise  that  he  will  show,  and  how  he  will  show 
it,  and  have  these  department  plans  handed  to  you 
on  Monday.  Have  the  Decorator  do  the  same  thing. 
Have  the  Advertising  Manager  present  his  plans  and 

43 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

suggestions.  After  these  papers  are  received,  have 
them  gone  over  by  a  Committee  including  .  the 
General  Manager,  the  Advertising  Manager,  and 
the  Window  Decorator,  and  brought  to  you,  with 
their  recommendations,  the  plans  then  decided  upon 
to  be  handed  to  the  department  managers  on  Tues- 
day. On  Tuesday  evening,  for  five  minutes  after 
the  store  closes,  call  a  Meeting  of  the  entire  organi- 
zation and  tell  them  what  is  planned,  and  announce : 
"A  PRIZE  for  the  Department  that  shall  make  the 

GREATEST    IMPROVEMENT   IN   ITS  APPEARANCE  for  the 

Exhibition." 

Name  a  Committee  of  three  of  your  managers  (not 
buyers)  to  be  Judges  of  the  Contest,  instructing  all 
that  the  Award  will  be  made  upon  consideration  of 
three  ends  to  be  accomplished  by  the  displays : 

1.  The  artistic  arrangement  of  the  merchandise. 

2.  The  effect  in  producing  large  immediate  sales. 

3.  The  least  possible  damage  to  goods  shown. 
The  Award  should  be  credits  for  all  employees 

in  the  winning  departments,  on  any  Bonus  system 
that  may  be  in  force,  or  it  might  be  Five  Dollars  in 
Gold  to  each,  or  a  day's  vacation  to  each,  alternately, 
as  found  convenient. 

If  the  Public  is  apprized  of  the  Contest,  as  they 
should  be,  an  additional  reward  should  be  shown  by 
displaying  a  Banner  in  the  Winning  Department, 
which  should  read:  " Prize- Winning  Department  in 
the  Fall  Opening  Exhibition  Contest." 

Tremendous  public  interest  may  be  added  to  the 

44 


THE  FALL  OPENING  EXHIBITION 

Opening  Exhibition  by  stating  in  your  Advertising: 
"In  order  to  make  this  the  finest  and  most  interesting 
Exhibition  of  Merchandise  ever  presented  in  our 
city,  we  have  alloted  A  PRIZE  OF  FIVE  DOLLARS  IN 
GOLD  to  be  awarded  to  every  employee  in  the  De- 
partment that  shall  create  the  most  artistic  effect 
in  its  displays  of  merchandise  during  this  Exhibition." 

To  accelerate  this  Public  Interest  in  the  Exhibi- 
tion, have  slips  printed  on  which  customers  may  vote 
for  the  Department  that  they  favor,  with  space  for 
each  voter  to  sign  his  or  her  name  and  address,  these 
slips  to  be  placed  at  every  counter  throughout  the 
store,  with  boxes  to  receive  them  placed  at  various 
points.  Of  course,  while  the  Judges  may  be  guided 
by  the  votes,  to  a  certain  extent,  their  final  decision 
must  be  based  on  the  three  features  stated  above. 

All  of  this  stimulus  will  accomplish  much  with 
employees  and  the  Public,  but  the  harmonious  effect 
throughout  the  store  must  be  carefully  guided  by  the 
Firm  and  the  Decorators.  All  departments  will 
need  help  and  suggestions — and  they  may  need  to 
be  told  that  IMMACULATE  CLEANLINESS  is  the  first 
thing  to  accomplish.  No  decorative  effect  can  be 
permitted  to  interfere  with  the  selling  facilities,  and 
every  decoration  must  be  planned  with  the  definite 
object  of  securing  immediate  sales  for  the  goods  dis- 
played. 

When  all  the  work  is  planned  and  under  way,  the 
Advertising  must  be  given  full  and  liberal  considera- 
tion. A  fine  illustration  should  be  used,  if  possible. 

45 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

A  live  Editorial  about  the  Store,  its  Merchandise  and 
its  policies,  should  be  written,  and  the  most  important 
of  the  New  Merchandise  should  be  glowingly  de- 
scribed in  the  most  interesting  and  alluring  manner. 

The  Windows  will,  of  course,  be  divided  among  the 
departments  that  can  supply  the  most  attractive 
merchandise,  and  each  window  will  contain  a  neat 
card  bearing  the  words:  "Fall  Opening  Exhibition 
in  every  department  of  the  entire  store."  Larger 
cards,  bearing  the  same  words,  should  be  prominently 
displayed  all  over  the  store,  so  that  people  will  be 
reminded  constantly  of  the  Event.  If  you  are  asking 
the  Public  to  vote,  add,  on  the  cards,  the  words: 
4<  Vote  for  your  favorite  display." 

Do  liberal  advertising  all  the  week,  putting  most 
of  your  effort  on  the  New  Goods  rather  than  on  bar- 
gains. 


46 


CHAPTER  VII 
START  THE  NEW  SEASON  WITH  CONFIDENCE 

To  be  a  WINNER,  you  must  go  into  a  fight  with 
absolute  assurance  in  your  own  strength  and  ability. 
Emerson  says  that  every  man  excels  the  man  he 
meets  in  ONE  respect,  at  least.  One  merchant  makes 
a  big  success  because  he  has  a  faculty  that  makes  him 
excel  his  competitor  in  Silks.  Another  makes  his 
whole  store  rise  to  broad  public  approval  because  he 
excels  all  competitors  in  Shoes. 

It  is  wise  to  study  your  weaknesses  AND  CURE 
THEM,  but  right  now  you  must  FORGET  that  anybody 
excels  you  in  any  part  of  your  business,  and  REMEM- 
BER that  there  are  ONE  OR  MORE  departments  in 
which  you  are  stronger  and  shrewder  than  any  of 
your  competitors.  I  believe  that  this  is  true,  or 
you  wouldn't  be  a  merchant.  PUT  THIS  BEST  FOOT 
FORWARD — NOW.  Walk  down  through  the  aisles  of 
your  store  with  your  chest  thrown  out.  Go  to  the 
front  door  and  fill  your  lungs  with  fresh  air,  and 
limber  up  your  muscles  for  the  Fall  and  Winter  FIGHT. 
Go  right  to  THAT  DEPARTMENT  where  you  are  STRONG, 
and  work  up  a  great  Event  that  WILL  STARTLE  THE 
TOWN  and  bring  customers  by  the  hundreds. 

47 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Some  prize  fighters  can't  hit  with  their  right  hands 
at  all,  but  they  become  world's  champions  because 
of  the  powerful  blows  of  their  mighty  "left."  No- 
body recalls  their  weakness  with  the  right  hand,  nor 
their  lack  of  ability  to  protect  their  body,  if  they 
win  a  knockout  with  the  right  blow  of  the  left  hand. 

I  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  one  store  to  sell 
more  Silks  than  its  rival  simply  by  having  a  better 
NOTION  department  or  by  having  LIVE  PEOPLE  SEL- 
LING PATTERNS.  Right  now  you  should  be  having 
BIG  DAYS  in  Silks  and  Dress  Goods,  but  it  would  be 
fatal  to  cut  prices  on  your  regular  lines  of  these 
fabrics,  so  they  must  be  shown  and  ADVERTISED  at 
their  full  prices. 

There  are  at  least  TWO  ways  to  bring  people  in 
crowds  to  the  section  where  these  dress  fabrics  are 
shown.  First,  by  an  exhibition  of  dresses  made  from 
the  fabrics.  Second,  and  more  powerfully,  by  hold- 
ing a  SENSATIONAL  NOTION  SALE  on  special  counters 

RIGHT  IN  THE  SILK  AND  DRESS  GOODS  DEPARTMENTS, 

with  the  fabrics  displayed  on  counters  all  around 
them.  The  modern  division  of  departments  has 
weakened  the  store's  possibilities  for  boosting  one 
department,  with  bargains  in  another,  because  the 
bargain  sale  that  may  help  the  Dress  Goods  and 
Silks  mightily  will  bring  only  loss  to  the  Notion  De- 
partment. In  my  store  I  would  say  to  the  Notion 
buyer:  "I  am  going  to  make  a  loss  of  $500  in  your 
department  for  the  benefit  of  the  Dress  Goods  and 
Silks,  and  I  am  going  to  credit  your  profits  with  that 

48 


START  WITH  CONFIDENCE 

amount,  and  charge  the  loss,  half  and  half,  to  those 
departments."  This  is  simple  justice  to  the  weak 
department,  and  enables  the  store  to  make  use  of 
inexpensive  merchandise  to  attract  even  greater 
interest  to  the  big  profit  departments  than  could  be 
secured  by  sacrificing  many  times  the  same  amount 
of  profit  directly  on  the  more  expensive  merchandise. 
Let  the  left  hand  hold  out  the  oats,  while  the  right 
hand  remains  free  to  put  the  halter  on  the  BIG  PROF- 
ITS. 

Next,  in  selling  Dress  Fabrics,  make  the  fullest 
possible  use  of  your  Paper  Pattern  department. 
Select  a  dozen  attractive  patterns  out  of  the  Style 
Book,  and  have  dresses  made  up  from  each — using 
materials  of  which  you  have  large  quantities — so 
that  you  can  show  people  THE  FINISHED  DRESSES 
THAT  THE  GOODS  WILL  MAKE — instead  of  the  flat  piece 
goods. 

People  have  very  little  imagination.  They  can't 
realize  how  beautiful  the  goods  will  look  when  made 
up.  You  MUST  HELP  THEM.  Then,  when  the  sales- 
man can  say:  "Madam,  this  dress  shows  you  just 
how  the  goods  will  look  when  they  are  made  up:  and 

THIS  PATTERN  MAKES  IT  VERY  EASY  TO  CUT  AND  MAKE 

THE  DRESS  AT  HOME,"  you  have  multiplied  the  pos- 
sibilities of  your  fabric  departments. 

Did  you  ever  think  that  when  you  sell  a  woman  a 
piece  of  Dress  Goods  that  you  have  sold  her  a  JOB 
OF  WORK?  If  she  is  not  a  natural  dressmaker,  your 
salesman  has  done  a  hard  piece  of  selling.  But, 

49 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

IF  YOU  FIRST  SHOW  HER  how  handsome  the  goods 
are  when  made  up,  and  THE  EASY  WAY  TO  MAKE  THE 
DRESS,  you  make  it  VERY  EASY  TO  SELL  DRESS  GOODS 
AND  SILKS.  This  is  why  the  Paper  Pattern  Depart- 
ment Should  ALWAYS  BE  AN  ADJUNCT  OF  THE  DRESS 

GOODS  DEPARTMENT.  It  is  hiding  its  possibilities 
under  a  bushel  to  make  it  stand  on  its  own  feet  and 
make  its  own  profits;  and  it  is  simply  to  be  ignorant 
of  its  uses  to  put  it  in  some  other  section  of  the  store 
where  it  will  only  be  valued  for  the  few  dollars  of 
direct  sales  that  it  makes.  Paper  Patterns  should 
be  valued  FOR  THE  DRESS  GOODS  AND  SILKS  THAT  THEY 
SELL — but  how  few  merchants  realize  it? 

Perhaps  you  have  a  competitor  who  has  a  bigger 
reputation  for  Silks  and  Dress  Goods  than  you  have, 
and  it  may  not  be  easy  to  buy  bigger  stocks,  or  sell 
for  lower  prices,  OR  TO  GET  IT  PUBLICLY  KNOWN  IF 
YOU  DID  DO  THIS.  But  you  can  get  public  attention 
TO-MORROW  to  a  startling  Sale  of  Notions  or  to  a 
unique  demonstration  of  what  can  be  done  with 
Paper  Patterns,  and  thus  MULTIPLY  YOUR  SALES  OF 
FABRICS. 

BRAINS  are  vastly  more  valuable  than  Big  Stocks 
in  getting  bigger  sales;  and  the  merchant  who  gets 
filled  with  CONFIDENCE  in  his  own  store  and  his  own 
goods,  and  who  is  ALIVE  TO  THINK  AND  ACT,  doesn't 
need  to  worry  about  a  bigger  competitor,  who  has 
larger  stocks  and  a  finer  store. 

Right  at  this  moment  PUSH  NEW  GOODS  TO  THE 
FRONT.  Of  course  there  must  be  a  constant  play  of 

50 


START  WITH  CONFIDENCE 

bargains  to  keep  the  bargain  hunters  coming — for 
you  can't  have  a  busy  store  without  them:  but  don't 
forget  that  THE  BEST  PEOPLE  IN  YOUR  CITY  are  most 
eager  at  this  time  TO  SEE  AND  TO  GET  THE  NEW  THINGS. 
Don't  hide  them  under  the  counter  or  keep  them 
carefully  in  boxes  for  fear  they  lose  their  freshness, 

for  THEY  WILL  NEVER  BE  SOLD  AT  ALL  Unless  people 

see  them.  And  it  will  be  far  better  for  them  to  be 
doing  your  store  a  lot  of  good  by  having  people 
admire  them,  than  to  have  them  turning  yellow  while 
nobody  sees  them  at  all. 

Do  the  BIGGEST  AND  STRONGEST  thing  that  you 
can  RIGHT  NOW.  Make  your  store  a  veritable  Ex- 
hibition of  New  Merchandise.  Have  your  special 
counters  for  bargains  and  cheap  goods,  but  show,  in 
the  most  lavish  way  you  can,  the  FINEST  GOODS  IN 
YOUR  STORE.  Primarily,  to  SELL  IT  WHILE  IT  is  NEW 
and  bearing  FULL  profits.  Secondly,  to  make  people 
ENTHUSE  over  the  fine  goods  that  you  are  showing. 

Get  your  Advertising  Man  enthused  about  the 
New  Things,  so  that  you  may  have  live  stories  about 
them  in  the  Newspapers.  Let  bargains  take  a  back 
seat  for  a  little  while.  Let  people  know  that  you 
sell  something  that  is  not  out  of  date,  down  and  out, 
and  begging  for  buyers  at  a  bargain.  Show  them 
that  you  have  goods  that  can  COMMAND  FULL  PRICE, 
and  which  they  must  HURRY  FOR  before  their  more 
lucky  and  prompt  neighbors  have  bought  them  all. 
Show  by  your  own  attitude  of  mind  that  you  have 

SOMETHING  FAR  BETTER  THAN  BARGAINS  to  Sell. 

51 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Get  out  of  your  RUTS  now.  If  you  are  in  the 
habit  of  going  into  your  store  through  a  certain  door 
every  day,  change  your  habit  and  come  in  by  some 
other  door — you  may  discover  something  you  haven't 
seen  before.  If  you  have  always  come  in  the  door 
with  a  fierce  scowl  on  your  face,  stop  deepening  the 
wrinkle,  and  see  how  things  look  when  your  eyes  are 
part  of  a  smile.  Looking  pleasant  at  your  sales- 
people may  so  cheer  up  some  of  the  scared  ones  that 
they  will  DOUBLE  THEIR  DAY'S  SALES. 

I  have  seen  tears  of  overwhelming  happiness  roll 
down  the  cheeks  of  merchants  when  demonstrations 
of  loyalty  and  affection  have  been  evidenced  by  their 
people — hours  worth  living  for.  I  have  seen  the 
crabbed  kinds  going  on  down  to  a  nerve-racked  and 
friendless  old  age  of  diminishing  business — with 
nothing  left  but  the  power  to  scold. 

Create  Happiness.  Arouse  Ambition.  Stimulate 
Energy.  Teach  your  people,  by  practice  and  pre- 
cept, TO  SMILE  AT  THEIR  WORK,  and  they  will  DO  IT 

BETTER,  and  PEOPLE  WILL  LIKE  YOUR  STORE  BETTER. 

Start  the  New  Season  with  Courage  and  Confidence, 
and  with  a  Loyal  and  Ambitious  Organization,  and 
neither  panics  nor  competitors  can  stop  you  from 
greater  success  and  larger  profits  than  ever  before. 


52 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  HARMONY  AND   ENTHUSIASM 
THROUGHOUT  YOUR  ORGANIZATION 

Nothing  else  is  so  important,  especially  at  the 
opening  of  the  season,  as  the  creation  of  the  proper 
"esprit  de  corps"-— the  enthusiastic  and  harmonious 
"spirit  of  the  hive" — among  all  your  busy  workers. 
See  that  there  is  HARMONY  EVERYWHERE.  And  fill 
every  worker  with  ENTHUSIASM. 

What  a  frightful  handicap  to  success  is  carried  by 
the  scores,  perhaps  hundreds  of  stores,  that  suffer 
from  FRICTION.  Somebody  standing  in  the  way— 
to  stop  a  rival  from  making  a  notable  success  that 
would  be  for  the  good  of  all.  It  would  seem  incred- 
ible that  any  man  would  stand  in  the  way  of  his  own 
profits  for  fear  another  man  would  feel  too  much 
gratified  with  what  he  had  accomplished.  But  the 
greatest  sinners  of  all,  in  this  respect,  are  rival  mem- 
bers of  the  firm.  The  next  greatest  are  rival  man- 
agers. 

I  know  of  stores  where  it  is  the  firm's  policy  to 
inspire  this  sort  of  rivalry — thinking  that  it  is  best 
to  have  one  man  holding  down  another  for  fear  either 
may  go  too  far.  Each  man  controlling  a  brake  on  the 

53 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

other  man's  machine!  Or  secretly  putting  "sand 
in  his  gear-box."  The  condition  is  awful  to  con- 
template, but  it  is  far  more  common  than  many 
merchants  realize. 

In  the  retail  business  to-day  it  is  plenty  hard 
enough  to  keep  up  the  speed,  if  every  energetic 
worker  and  manager  is  AIDED  in  every  effort  made. 
It  is  vital  that  the  MOST  THAT  is  IN  ALL  should  be 
brought  out  to  the  full.  Jealousies  that  are  fought 
out  by  killing  or  reducing  the  successful  work  of  a 
rival  in  the  store  are  frightfully  costly  to  the  owners. 
It  would  be  vastly  better  to  have  an  employee  lift  a 
hundred  dollars  from  the  cash  drawer  every  week, 
than  to  have  him  kill  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
sales  for  the  business  that  would  be  secured  by  adopt- 
ing a  rival's  ideas,  which  may  be  killed  by  his  op- 
position. 

But  one  man  who  is  conservative  gets  hooked  up 
in  business  with  a  younger  and  more  energetic  man, 
and  men  say  that  is  an  ideal  combination,  for  the 
conservative  man  will  hold  down  the  young  man, 
while  the  concern  will  profit  by  the  energy  of  the 
young  fellow.  That  is  false  logic.  What  farmer  would 
ever  hitch  up  such  a  team?  The  singletrees  would 
be  snapped  by  the  youngster,  and  the  tongue  would  be 
wobbling  all  over  the  road,  shaking  the  wagon  to 
pieces,  making  the  old  horse  nervous  while  keeping 
the  young  one  in  a  lather.  That  is  always  the  result. 

But  take  two  young  men — each  full  of  energy  and 
enthusiasm — and  give  them  their  heads.  Put  no 

54 


HARMONY  AND  ENTHUSIASM 

handicaps  in  their  way,  and  they'll  make  mistakes- 
plenty  of  them — but  they'll  accomplish  so  much  that 
they  will  pay  for  all  the  mistakes  many  times  over. 

And  who  does  not  make  mistakes?  The  old 
fogies,  the  hard-headed  business  men,  are  making 
them  every  day,  while  they  lack  the  speed  and  en- 
thusiasm that  would  make  up  for  them.  Of  course, 
all  men  cannot  be  young.  But  all  old  men  may  have 
young  partners,  or  they  can  employ  young  managers, 

AND  THEN  GIVE  THEM  A  CHANGE. 

The  most  pitiable  man  in  business  is  the  one  that 
made  a  success  before  he  had  real  competition,  and 
has  grown  old  to  find  his  business  going  to  his  com- 
petitors, while  his  young  assistants,  who  could  con- 
tinue to  keep  his  business  to  the  front,  are  tied  hand 
and  foot  by  a  fretful  old  man  who  won't  do  a  new 
thing  because  he  didn't  do  it  in  the  old  days. 

I  know  men  who  have  made  fortunes,  and  have 
well  earned  a  long  vacation,  who  are  sticking  to 
their  declining  businesses,  and  seeing  them  lose 
money  year  after  year,  when,  if  they  would  get  out 
and  enjoy  the  balance  of  their  lives,  they  would  also 
see  their  businesses  grow  profitable  again  by  giving 
the  young  blood  a  chance. 

But  HARMONY  is  VITAL.  If  you  have  managers 
who  are  not  competent  and  cannot  be  trusted  to  do 
things  right,  get  rid  of  them.  But  if  you  have  good, 
capable  men  in  charge  of  your  business,  for  goodness* 
sake  take  the  handcuffs  off  them,  and  give  them 
a  chance  TO  DO  THINGS.  Don't  permit  one  man  to 

55 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

stand  in  the  way  of  another.  Give  each  a  specific 
duty,  and  have  no  conflict — have  every  man  attend 
to  HIS  OWN  BUSINESS.  Wherever  you  discover  ri- 
valry, watch  that  it  does  not  become  bitter  and  cause 
friction  that  affects  the  business.  Be  sure  that  you 
have  COMPLETE  HARMONY  to  start  the  Fall  Business. 

Then  create  ENTHUSIASM — first  among  your  Man- 
agers and  Buyers.  Call  a  meeting  and  tell  them  what 
you  want  to  do.  Tell  them  about  the  splendid 
possibilities  for  the  Fall  and  Winter  business  if 
ALL  WORK  TOGETHER  and  if  every  man  does  THE 
BEST  THAT  is  IN  HIM.  Offer  a  Prize  of  $100  to  $1,000, 
according  to  the  size  of  your  business,  to  the  man  who 
makes  the  greatest  percentage  of  increase,  either  in 
sales  or  profits,  and  get  them  to  put  in  every  ounce  of 
effort  they  have.  Then  work  with  them  and  for 
them.  Don't  discourage  any  good  effort  that  is 
made,  or  any  good  suggestion.  For  goodness'  sake 
don't  say  to  a  man  who  is  eager  to  do  something 
different,  to  make  more  business:  "We  never  did 
THAT  before — I  guess  we  can't  do  that." 

Get  your  people  "keyed  up,"  and  KEEP  THEM 
KEYED  UP.  Then  business  will  come,  whether  times 
are  good  or  bad.  Even  in  the  worst  times  there  is 
big  business  to  be  gotten  if  you  are  smart  enough  to 
take  it  from  your  competitor. 

Next  you  must  get  your  SALESPEOPLE  STIMULATED. 
Two  other  chapters  dealing  with  this  vital  problem 
should  be  re-read  by  merchants:  "Ways  to  Keep 
Salespeople  Interested,"  and  "An  Equitable  Bonus 

56 


HARMONY  AND  ENTHUSIASM 

System."  The  former  tells  the  value  of  pleasant 
words  and  personal  interest  by  the  firm  directly  to 
the  salespeople,  with  commendation  for  good  things 
done — showing  that  good  work  was  really  noticed 
and  appreciated.  It  also  gives  suggestions  for  weekly 
prices  that  would  cost  little,  and  yet  would  create 
continuous  interest  and  enthusiasm. 

Most  wide-awake  merchants  have  accepted  the 
policy  of  Bonus  Systems,  and  nothing  works  more 
strongly  for  positive  RESULTS  than  a  bonus  paid  on 
extra  sales  secured. 

A  meeting  of  the  salespeople  should  be  called  at 
once,  and  they  should  be  stimulated  to  the  fullest 
degree.  They  should  be  told  of  THEIR  IMPORTANCE 
to  the  success  of  the  new  season's  business — how  the 
firm  is  DEPENDING  UPON  THEM,  how  success  is  im- 
possible  without  their  energetic  and  intelligent  work. 
They  should  be  made  to  feel  proud  of  DOING  THEIR 
WORK  WELL,  and  they  should  be  offered  definite 
rewards  for  making  good. 

Great  importance  should  be  placed  on  the  matter 
of  showing  new  goods  to  the  salespeople,  and  ex- 
plaining them  to  them — telling  them  why  they  were 
bought,  why  they  are  good,  and  giving  them  all 
the  best  selling  arguments,  and  not  relying  upon  the 
salespeople  to  be  mind  readers  in  order  to  discover 
the  character  and  uses  of  the  goods  they  are  to  sell. 

INFORM  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE.  Fill  them  full  of 
ENTHUSIASM.  Give  them  SOMETHING  TO  WORK  FOR 
besides  their  salaries.  Let  them  know  that  YOU  SEE 

57 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

THE  GOOD  THINGS  THEY  DO  and  that  you  are  more 
eager  to  commend  good  work  than  anxious  to  cuss 
them  out  for  the  mistakes  that  will  be  made  by  the 
best  of  people  at  times. 

Secure  complete  HARMONY  throughout  your  entire 
organization.  Take  the  stumbling-blocks  out  of  the 
way  of  your  people  who  want  TO  DO  THINGS.  Get 
all  the  sand  out  of  the  gear-box  and  bearings.  Pour 
the  oil  of  enthusiasm  and  encouraged  ambition  into 
all  the  working  parts — DO  IT  NOW — RIGHT  AT  THE 
START  OF  THE  SEASON — and  every  effort  that  you 
make  will  bring  far  bigger  results  than  can  otherwise 
be  possible.  With  a  store  force  of  WELL-INFORMED, 

AMBITIOUS,     ENTHUSIASTIC     WORKERS,     yOU     will    get 

sales  volume  that  will  surprise  you,  and  you'll  make 
the  biggest  prestige  for  your  store  that  it  has  ever 
known. 


58 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  A  CROWD 

The  bargain  sale  that  attracts  great  crowds  does 
an  infinitely  greater  service  to  the  store  than  the 
mere  piling  up  of  the  day's  sales.  Also,  the  value  of 
the  crowd  is  not  merely  measured  by  the  additional 
goods  that  these  people  buy  elsewhere  in  the  store. 
And  yet,  that  is  the  usual  assessment  of  value  that 
merchants  place  on  crowds;  and  often  their  real  value 
is  tremendously  discounted. 

The  REAL  value  of  a  Crowd  comes  from  the  im- 
pression that  it  makes  upon  the  public.  When 
people  see  a  store  crowded  with  customers  they  think 
that  it  must  be  a  good  store,  or  that  the  merchandise 
offered  at  that  time  must  be  extraordinary.  People 
are  just  like  flies,  or  ducks,  or  chickens,  or  sheep. 
They  follow  the  crowd. 

"To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,"  was  a  great 
world  truth.  The  philosophy  of  that  truth  covers 
many  phases  of  human  life;  but  nowhere  is  the  fact 
more  strongly  shown  than  in  the  assembling  of  human 
beings.  We  are  social  animals,  and  we  all  FLOCK 
where  the  biggest  number  of  other  human  beings  are 
to  be  found.  There  is  a  vast  human  confidence  in  the 

59 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

judgment  of  the  majority.  We  think  that  if  so 
many  thousands  of  people  believe  a  thing  or  a  store 
to  be  good  that  it  MUST  be  good.  And  so  the  world 
accepts  the  verdict  of  CROWDS. 

Hundreds  of  stores  are  merchandised  with  the  one 
object  in  mind  of  making  the  store  always  look  busy. 
Some  merchants  arrange  for  small  aisles  in  their 
store,  so  they  will  always  seem  to  be  crowded.  Others 
fill  their  aisles  with  bargain  counters,  so  that  the 
aisles  will  always  actually  be  filled.  It  is  one  of  the 
great  facts  of  retailing  that  the  busy  store  attracts 
more  business.  Just  as  "  Nothing  succeeds  like 
Success,"  so  nothing  makes  business  like  business. 
One  stray  duck  in  a  swamp  will  soon  find  the  flock, 
even  if  the  flock  is  a  bevy  of  decoys.  So  the  crowds 
crowd  in  where  the  crowds  are. 

While  the  fact  of  the  positive  of  this  statement  is 
true,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  negative 
of  this  truism  is  no  less  positive.  The  store  that 
does  not  have  the  people  can't  get  them. 

There  is  something  dead  and  forbidding  about  the 
dull,  quiet  store.  We  can  almost  recognize  the  musty 
smell  about  it  when  we  go  in.  We  would  never  think 
of  finding  anything  NEW  in  the  deadly  dull  store,  and 
we  WOULD  expect  to  find  the  HIGHEST  PRICES  there. 

If  I  were  to  take  over  the  management  of  such  a 
store,  that  had  gotten  so  dead  that  the  owners  de- 
spaired of  ever  reviving  it,  I  would  create  some  bar- 
gain sensation  that  was  so  strong  and  startling  that 
it  would  impel  the  bravest  bargain-seekers  to  hazard 

60 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  A  CROWD 

a  journey  through  the  formerly  repellent  doors  just 
as  far  as  the  first  aisle.  Then  I  would  fill  those 
counters  with  goods  so  tempting  that  those  who  came 
could  not  resist  buying,  and  simply  by  dynamic 
power  I  would  create  CROWDS  in  my  aisles,  until 
people  who  looked  in  would  see  that  the  ghost  of  the 
dead  past  was  gone.  Only  by  such  drastic  action 
could  new  life  be  created  for  such  a  store. 

But,  a  great  deal  of  judgment  must  be  used,  in 
creating  and  manipulating  your  crowds.  In  the 
dull  seasons  you  will  need  to  use  artificial  means, 
such  as  bargains,  or  popular-priced  goods,  to  keep 
your  aisles  busy;  but,  at  Christmas  time,  you  would 
need  to  study  your  merchandising  quite  as  carefully 
TO  PREVENT  CONGESTION  in  your  front  aisles. 

When  the  real,  physical  crowds  are  pouring  through 
your  doors,  jostling  each  other  uncomfortably,  to 
get  to  other  sections  of  your  store,  YOU  SHOULDN'T 
HAVE  A  BARGAIN  COUNTER  on  your  aisles.  And,  if 
you  are  selling  popular  merchandise,  that  makes 
crowds  that  congest  your  front  aisles,  you  should 

MOVE    THOSE    BUSY    SECTIONS    TO    THE    REAR    OF    THE 

STORE,  so  that  they  won't  impede  traffic  through 
your  aisles,  and  also  to  take  the  big  crowds  back  to 
where  they  can  be  more  comfortably  served. 

Storekeeping  requires  generalship  of  the  highest 
type,  and  the  commanding  officer  must  be  much  in 
the  field.  The  bureau  general  in  a  store  is  of  little 
more  use  than  an  admiral  on  shore  when  the  naval 
battle  is  going  on. 

61 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  progressive  store  not  only  changes  its  aisle- 
counter  merchandise  each  day,  but  the  director 
stands  ready  to  change  the  goods  after  the  first  hour 
if  it  fails  to  gather  its  crowd.  This  is  because  one 
frost-bitten  counter  can  tremendously  damage  the 
business  of  the  whole  store;  because  it  makes  the 
store  look  dull.  People  often  get  their  impression 
of  an  entire  store  from  a  single  section  of  it. 

Many  a  customer,  who  rushes  eagerly  to  a  store 
after  reading  the  advertising,  loses  all  her  enthu- 
siasm as  soon  as  she  gets  to  the  store,  if  she  finds  no- 
body but  herself  has  answered  the  advertisement. 
THAT  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  too  conservative 
advertising  fails.  It  may  be  true,  artistic,  dignified; 
and  the  facts  may  be  quite  as  extraordinary  as  those 
of  another  store.  But,  if  the  other  store  puts  more 
ginger  into  the  story,  and  makes,  not  one  customer, 
but  hundreds  come  quickly  to  buy  the  goods,  the 
selling  will  be  infinitely  easier  and  more  rapid,  be- 
cause the  CROWDS  that  come  will  carry  a  strong  public 
endorsement  of  the  bargain;  and  this  endorsement 
would  be  lacking  absolutely  in  the  conservative  store. 

The  progressive  merchant  will  give  a  lot  of  thought 
and  study  to  this  vital  subject  of  CROWDS,  and  then 
he  will  ACT  to-day,  to-morrow,  and  every  day  that 
he  is  in  business.  So  this  then  is  the  Great  Secret; 
"Crowds  crowd  in  where  the  CROWDS  are."  Go  get 
CROWDS  and  your  store  will  succeed. 


62 


CHAPTER  X 
BLOUSES:    FASHION'S  QUICKEST  SALES  WINNER 

How  are  your  sales  of  Blouses,  or  Shirt  Waists? 
No  other  garment  in  your  store  can  bring  such  con- 
tinuous results  as  Shirt  Waists  or  Blouses.  The 
Blouse  is  a  really  beautiful  and  stylish  garment. 
It  has  as  much  character  in  the  make-up  of  the 
apparel  worn  by  women  as  the  complete  dress  or 
the  suit.  The  Blouse  can  totally  transform  a  wo- 
man's appearance.  For  this  reason,  a  woman  car 
always  be  tempted  to  buy  a  new  one,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  limit  to  the  possibilities  for  sales. 

One  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  Advertising 
is  to  exploit  merchandise  that  has  LARGE  DRAWING 
POWER — to  bring  people  to  your  store.  Some  mer- 
chants very  foolishly  think  that  any  advertising 
which  does  not  make  enough  profitable  returns 
from  the  goods  advertised  to  pay  the  bill  for  that 
advertising,  is  bad  business.  That  is  short-sighted 
reasoning,  yet  quite  common,  I  find. 

Of  course,  the  BEST  advertising  is  the  kind  that 
not  only  brings  many  people  to  your  store,  but  also 
PAYS  IN  DIRECT  RESULTS.  But  what  store  can  find 
enough  such  merchandise  to  continuously  advertise 

63 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

only  that  kind?  And  how  long  would  it  take  to 
provide  all  of  it  that  the  public  would  buy?  Ad- 
vertising is  ALWAYS  GOOD,  if  it  brings  many  people  to 
your  store,  and  much  VERY  VALUABLE  ADVERTISING 
simply  makes  people  THINK  WELL  OF  YOUR  STORE,  with- 
out bringing  them  to  buy  goods  at  that  time  at  all. 
?  Blouses  provide  THE  BEST  MERCHANDISE  i  KNOW 
with  which  to  secure  EVERY  KIND  OF  VALUABLE 
ADVERTISING  RESULTS.  They  bring  very  gratifying 

DIRECT    SALES.       They    ATTRACT    LARGE    NUMBERS    OF 

.WOMEN  to  come  to  your  store.  If  well  advertised  and 
artistically  illustrated,  they  give  a  woman  the  im- 
pression that  your  store  has  very  attractive  fashion- 
able merchandise,  and  she  will  be  impelled  to  visit 
your  store  the  next  time  she  goes  shopping,  BECAUSE 
OF  THE  GOOD  IMPRESSION  MADE.  For  these  reasons, 

BLOUSES  SHOULD  BE  FREQUENTLY  ADVERTISED.   But 

you  must  have  THE  RIGHT  KINDS  to  show,  to  illustrate, 
and  to  sell. 

There  should  be  special  effort  made  to  secure 
splendid  offerings  of  Blouses  for  One  Dollar.  Won- 
derful values  are  procurable  at  $7.50  to  $9  a  dozen, 
and  a  little  more  can  be  paid  to  add  to  the  selection. 
But  don't  forget  that  many  of  your  BEST  CUSTOMERS 
are  far  more  interested  in  securing  UNUSUALLY  BEAU- 
TIFUL styles  and  entirely  ORIGINAL  MODELS  than 
they  are  in  paying  little  prices.  This  is  especially 
true  at  the  beginning  of  the  season. 

The  season  should  be  started  with  a  fine  large 

EXHIBITION    OF    THE    NEW    STYLES    IN    BLOUSES,    and 

64 


BLOUSES:  SALES  WINNER 

the  Event  should  be  prepared  for  by  collecting  a 
liberal  selection  of  the  MORE  ELABORATE  and  exqui- 
sitely trimmed  Blouses,  to  give  the  genuine  FASHION 
EXHIBITION  effect, 

As  I  have  said  several  times  before,  and  must  con- 
tinually repeat — because  of  its  importance — THE 

GOOD  STORE  MUST  ALWAYS  SHOW  CERTAIN  GOODS  IN 
MUCH  FINER  QUALITY  THAN  IT  EXPECTS  TO  SELL  AT 

A  PROFIT.  This  is  because  it  creates  the  impression 
of  class  and  quality  for  your  store,  and  creates  a 
feeling  of  betterness  for  your  more  popular  goods. 
Then  there  are  always  many  BEST  PEOPLE  who  are 
only  too  anxious  to  discover  things  that  are  FINER 
THAN  USUAL,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  how 
easy  it  is  to  SELL  FINER  GOODS  THAN  YOU  THOUGHT 
YOU  COULD.  Then,  the  having  of  such  fine  goods  on 
exhibition  gives  you  a  splendid  Advertising  story, 
and  creates  a  fascinating  display  for  the  best-dressed 
women  of  your  city  to  see.  Don't  be  afraid  to  buy 
FINE  THINGS.  But  be  sure  to  ADVERTISE  THEM  when 
you  have  them. 

I  had  an  experience  one  Spring  that  taught  a  New 
York  merchant  a  good  lesson.  He  believed  in  ad- 
vertising bargains  and  "special  values"  all  the  time. 
I  wanted  to  exploit  his  FINEST  THINGS.  He  was  afraid 
that  the  high  prices  would  frighten  people  away. 
A  choice  little  group  of  ten  Parasols  arrived  from 
Paris.  They  were  marked  at  $28.50  and  $32.50— 
pretty  high  prices  for  Parasols.  I  insisted  on  ad- 
vertising them — in  a  very  small  space,  and  six  OF 

65 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

THEM     WERE     SOLD     THE    NEXT     DAY!      Women     Were 

EAGER  for  the  NEW  things.  And  they  will  be  just  as 
eager  in  YOUR  City. 

Have  the  fine  Exhibition.  Decorate  your  win- 
dows beautifully.  Make  a  fine  Display  throughout 
the  Blouse  Department.  Prepare  Signs  to  go  all  over 
the  store,  telling  about  the  Event  to  people  in  all 
sections.  Have  a  very  beautifully  illustrated  Ad- 
vertisement, and  the  effect  will  be  tremendous — in 
Sales — in  Drawing  crowds  of  Women — in  creating 
Prestige  for  your  store. 

Then,  lay  your  plans  for  Sales  at  Popular  Prices 
—to  follow  the  big  exhibition — and  pick  up  results 
that  will  be  so  easy  to  gather  after  the  prestige  that 
the  fine  exhibition  has  made. 

Advertising  and  Merchandising  are  very  Psycho- 
logical. The  Impression  that  is  made  on  people's 
minds  is  VITAL  to  the  working  out  of  the  largest 
success.  The  Sale  that  follows  a  previous  Sale  is 
always  weak — if  it  comes  too  quickly.  Even  a  piece 
of  pie  is  tasteless  after  you  have  had  all  the  pie  you 
want  to  eat.  The  Farmer  must  study  the  scientific 
rotation  of  crops  to  get  best  results  from  the  soil. 
If  he  plants  the  same  vegetables  time  after  time  in 
the  same  place,  he  will  soon  get  disastrous  results. 
It  is  exactly  the  same  in  Merchandising  and  Adver- 
tising, and  this  fact  should  be  recognized. 

After  one  Sale  excitement  is  over,  don't  rush  in, 
to  have  another  "sale,"  because  the  last  one  was  such 
a  success,  or  your  results  will  grow  smaller  each  time, 

66 


BLOUSES:  SALES  WINNER 

and  soon  nobody  will  come  to  your  sales.  But  use 
judgment  in  alternating  the  fine  with  the  low-priced; 
and  have  sales  of  high-priced  but  greatly  reduced 
goods  in  between  your  little-priced  sales,  and  your 
results  will  keep  on  coming — for  they  won't  tire 
out  your  readers  and  customers. 

Plan  for  your  bargain  sales  of  Blouses  with  special 
purchases  made  at  definite  reductions  from  regular 
prices.  Don't  cut  your  own  profits.  Don't  be  con- 
tinuously hacking  the  prices  of  your  regular  lines. 
Have  "special"  goods  for  special  events,  and  MAKE 
MONEY  ON  YOUR  BARGAINS.  Take  advantage  of  the 
manufacturers'  offerings.  Also  get  special  lots  for 
bargain  days,  at  the  same  time  as  you  buy  your 
regular  stocks — so  that  the  maker  will  be  in  the 
humor  of  giving  you  a  "plum";  and  you  won't  have 
to  work  so  hard  to  get  it. 

I  believe  in  making  a  Sale  at  ONE  PRICE  AT  A  TIME. 
The  advertising  is  much  stronger  than  when  you 
have  several  prices  to  exploit.  Start  with  a  Sale  of 
$1.95  Blouses  that  are  genuine  $3  values.  Put  in  a 
window  of  them  that  may  be  open  to  view  the  day 
before  the  Sale,  with  a  card  stating  what  the  price  is 
to  be,  and  when  they  go  on  sale.  Place  one  or  more 
show  cases  on  the  Main  floor,  in  which  several  styles 
are  shown,  and  have  the  ticket  tell  the  story.  Get  up 
a  handsome  advertisement,  with  the  best  pictures  you 
can  get — truthfully  sketched  from  the  Blouses  that  are 
to  be  sold  at  $1.95 — and  you  will  have  a  big  selling — 
provided  you  give  exceptional  merchandise. 

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MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Then  you  must  plan  a  bigger  and  stronger  offering 
of  Dollar  Blouses.  Don't  do  it  at  all,  unless  you  can 
give  exceptional  value.  Don't  think  so  much  about 
profit  in  this  Sale;  because  it  must  be  done  to  make  a 
sensation  that  will  make  one  woman  show  her  bar- 
gain to  another,  until  the  whole  town  is  talking  about 
your  Dollar  Blouse  Sale.  Don't  make  an  offering 
that  it  will  be  easy  for  your  competitor  to  beat  the 
next  day.  Give  him  something  TO  WORRY  ABOUT. 
Then,  if  he  comes  back  at  you,  don't  go  into  a  cut- 
price  war — but  swing  around  to  another  display  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  most  expensive  Blouses  that 
you  have  in  stock,  or  can  quickly  get.  When  he  gets 
to  shrieking  about  89  cent  Blouses,  let  him  have  the 
street;  but  double  discount  all  his  antics  by  compel- 
ling PUBLIC  ADMIRATION  for  the  exquisite  Blouses 
that  fill  your  windows  at  $5,  $10,  $15,  and  more,  if 
you  have  them. 

When  you  have  done  the  utmost  with  Blouses, 
you  have  increased  your  Sales,  won  Public  Atten- 
tion, Drawn  Big  Crowds,  and  made  women  do  a 
lot  of  talking  about  your  store.  The  Blouse  is  one 
of  the  best  friends  of  the  retail  merchant,  and  a 
wonderful  asset  to  the  Advertising  Manager. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  EARLY  OCTOBER  BLANKET  SALE 

How  I  used  to  love  to  sell  Blankets! 

I  don't  know  whether  it  was  the  soft,  rich  pink, 
yellow,  or  blue  of  the  border,  the  warm,  fluffy  wool 
of  the  blanket  itself,  or  the  good,  fat  check  that  usu- 
ally followed  the  sale;  but  Blanket  selling  always 
had  a  fascination  for  me.  The  arguments  for  the 
sale  are  all  so  simple  and  wholesome.  The  Blanket 
appeals  to  creature  comfort,  and  it  is  so  easy  to  get 
the  human  nature  into  the  selling  talk  that  appeals 
to  the  customer.  But  how  few  take  the  advantage 
of  this  condition  when  making  the  window  display 
or  when  writing  the  advertising. 

A  great  big  event  in  Blankets  should  be  all  ready  to 
exploit  on  the  first  cold  day  of  October.  The  regular 
stocks  will  be  ready,  of  course.  But  have  you  pre- 
pared special  lots  to  offer  at  very  low  prices,  to  GIVE 

A    BIG    SENSATION    TO    THE    OPENING    SALE?      If    they 

are  not  provided  for,  get  busy  to-day.  Buy  three 
lots  under  price,  so  that  you  do  not  have  to  cut  the 
profits  on  your  regular  stock  to  make  the  bargains. 
Then  get  your  Advertising  planned  and  written: 
'The  Annual  October  Blanket  Sale  Presenting  the 

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MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Complete  Winter  Stocks  and  Three  Price  Groups  for 
Earliest  Comers." 

Give  plenty  of  space  to  the  Announcement,  and 
write  the  copy  about  the  delights  of  wide-open  win- 
dows, the  health-giving  FRESH  AIR,  and  the  little 
cost  of  LUXURIOUS  WARMTH  when  the  right  Blankets 
are  bought  at  such  low  prices  as  you  offer  in  your 
Sale. 

Then  get  up  a  unique  Window  Attraction  to  carry 
out  the  same  idea;  for  instance,  build  a  dummy 
house  in  the  store  window.  Show  on  the  inside  of  it 
a  doll,  in  bed,  wrapped  up  snugly  in  a  blanket.  Then 
have  another  doll  standing  at  the  window  of  the 
house,  as  if  in  the  act  of  raising  the  window  for  the 
night.  This  mother  doll  should  be  wearing  a  filmy 
nightgown,  and  a  hidden  electric  fan  should  be  ar- 
ranged to  be  blowing  a  gale  into  the  window  that 
would  make  the  nightgown  flutter  in  the  breeze. 
A  dummy  thermometer,  heroic  in  size,  with  large 
figures,  should  be  fastened  to  the  window  casing, 
showing  to  the  street,  and  should  show  a  temperature 
of  ten  degrees  above  zero.  Another  thermometer — 
also  of  magnified  size — should  be  shown  with  the 
bulb  tucked  under  the  blanket,  and  the  upper  part 
exposed  to  sight  to  show  the  temperature  of  90  de- 
grees UNDER  THE  BLANKET. 

If  the  house  is  shown  half  buried  in  snow  (made  of 
cotton,  of  course),  with  snow  on  the  window  sills, 
the  effect  will  be  all  the  stronger.  Don't  get  the 
idea  that  the  only  way  to  put  in  a  Blanket  Window 

70 


OCTOBER  BLANKET  SALE 

is  to  fill  the  window  with  blankets,  to  get  soiled  and 
require  a  reduced  price.  One  Blanket,  with  AN  IDEA 
back  of  it,  will  be  better  than  a  hundred  without  it. 

Another  effect  for  a  window  would  be  to  show  a 
modern  "sleeping  porch,"  with  four  or  five  beds  made 
up,  and  dolls  tucked  in  each.  This  plan  would  be 
simpler  to  arrange,  and  the  Mother  Doll  could  be 
shown  walking  along  the  porch,  with  a  high  wind 
blowing  her  nightgown  to  create  the  blizzard  effect, 
The  thermometers  could  be  arranged  in  similar  man- 
ner, to  show  the  frigid  air  of  the  porch  and  the  warmth 
under  the  blankets — "Which  will  be  sold,  while  the 
lot  lasts,  at  $3.50  a  pair  instead  of  $4.75,"  etc. 

The  whole  window  effect  depends  only  on  the  skill 
of  the  decorator  to  make  the  scene  realistic;  and  the 
whole  city  will  start  talking  about  the  odd  display. 
If  a  toy  dog  is  tucked  in  beside  a  little  girl,  in  cunning 
manner,  it  will  add  another  touch  of  nature.  Doubt- 
less many  things  of  interest-attracting  nature  may 
be  added — to  make  people  smile  and  talk  and  THINK 
ABOUT  BLANKETS  in  connection  with  your  store,  and 
particularly  about  the  Sale  that  is  NOW  IN  PROGRESS. 

Then  the  Blanket  Department  should  be  made  to 
look  LIVE  AND  INTERESTING,  so  that  there  will  be  no 
anti-climax  or  loss  of  interest  when  the  prospective 
customer  comes  to  buy.  Plenty  of  the  bargain 
blankets  should  be  in  evidence,  with  plain  cards  on 
them — telling  about  the  bargain;  but  there  should  be 
the  most  tempting  displays  of  the  REGULAR  BLANKETS 
at  FULL  PROFITS  shown  right  beside  the  bargains— 

71 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

so  that  most  people  will  be  tempted  to  pay  a  little 
more  for  the  warmer,  more  attractive,  and  MORE 

LUXURIOUS  KINDS. 

There  should  be  no  sign  of  any  lack  of  desire  to  sell 
the  bargains:  but  there  should  be  such  true  admiration 
pf  the  finer  kinds  that  they  would  be  shown  to  the 
customer  out  of  a  very  honest  desire  that  their  beauty 
and  excellence  should  be  seen  by  the  customer. 
"While  you're  here,"  the  salesman  should  say — 
even  after  the  cheap  blanket  has  been  bought — "I 
want  to  show  you  a  beauty  blanket,  just  to  see  how 
fine  they're  making  them  now."  Even  the  woman 
who  never  would  think  of  paying  such  a  price  will  be 
impressed,  and  will  probably  talk  to  her  friends  about 
the  magnificent  blankets  that  she  saw  at  your  store, 

A  sale  is  often  made  to  an  entirely  different  person 
when  you  are  showing  goods  to  people  who  are  "just 
looking";  for  that  person  may  go  out  to  her  neighbors 
AND  DO  THE  SELLING  FOR  YOU.  And  you  may  never 
know  why  the  woman  came  in  to  buy  the  fine  blankets 
that  were  not  even  advertised.  Every  minute  when 
the  good  salesman  has  his  customer's  attention,  he 
can  be  doing  valuable  work,  if  he  is  bright  and  tact- 
ful; but  salespeople  must  be  taught  and  helped. 
They  cannot  know  these  things  by  instinct,  and 
there  are  few  schools  where  they  can  be  learned.  A 
little  instruction  and  help  from  merchants  and  buyers 
will  produce  trained  salespeople  in  a  few  weeks  that 
cannot  be  matched  in  years  of  self-effort  by  the  same 
people. 

72 


OCTOBER  BLANKET  SALE 

In  this  Blanket  Event,  as  in  all  important  sales  and 
openings,  notices  of  the  Sale  should  be  printed  on  big 
cards  and  posted  all  over  the  store — so  that  every 
customer  that  comes  into  the  building  will  be  in- 
formed about  the  Big  Blanket  Sale.  People  always 
size  up  an  occasion  to  be  as  big  as  the  merchant  shows 
that  it  is,  by  his  own  advertising  and  displays.  If 
the  store  makes  little  of  it,  the  public  will  do  the 
same.  If  the  store  acts  as  if  something  BIG  was 
going  on,  the  public  will  get  the  big  impression,  and 
act  accordingly. 

Then  the  firm,  or  the  manager,  should  make  a 
direct  appeal  to  all  the  salespeople — whether  they 
sell  blankets  or  not — to  tell  their  customers  to  go 
and  see  the  Special  Blankets  that  are  on  sale.  If 
there  is  a  unique  window  display,  the  opening  of  the 
subject  to  the  customer  will  be  all  the  easier,  for  a 
word  can  be  said  about  the  window  in  the  most 
casual  way.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  it  is  so 
important  to  create  as  many  EVENTS  as  possible  in 
your  business.  It  gives  your  salespeople  something 
definite  to  talk  about  to  send  customers  to  other 
departments  when  they  have  sold  them  all  they 
can  in  their  own  section.  It  gives  the  Advertising 
Manager  something  of  new  interest  to  write  about. 
And  it  gives  the  Public  something  unique  to  make 

them  TALK  ABOUT  YOUR  STORE. 

Make  your  plans  for  the  Blanket  Opening  NOW. 
Have  the  Window  Decorator  get  his  background 
all  ready  for  the  cold  Winter  scene — with  the  house 

73 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

front,  or  the  porch  front,  all  finished  and  ready  to 
put  in  for  the  first  cold  snap.  Have  your  Advertis- 
ing all  written,  and  ready  to  print.  Then  you  will 
be  ready  to  spring  a  real  sensation  just  at  the  mo- 
ment when  people  are  ready  to  buy  their  early  Blan- 
kets— and  you'll  have  just  that  much  start  on  the 
new  season.  And  the  EARLY  Sales  are  always  the 
most  profitable:  and  many  of  them  will  be  taken  from 
your  competitors. 


74 


CHAPTER  XII 
PROTECTING  YOUR  PROFITS 

What  boots  it,  if  you  have  done  a  wonderful  volume 
of  business,  if  you  count  up  your  books  on  the  31st 
of  December,  or  at  the  end  of  your  fiscal  year,  and 
you  find  that  you  have  made  no  money?  Exactly 
this  condition  is  discovered  by  a  vast  number  of 
merchants  on  a  great  many  inventory  days.  This 
is  the  eternal  problem:  "How  can  the  expenses  of 
doing  business  be  kept  at  5  to  10  per  cent,  below  the 
gross  profits?  "  And  so,  year  after  year,  the  merchant 
tries  to  get  BIGGER  GROSS  PROFITS  and  GUT  DOWN 
HIS  EXPENSES.  This  short-sighted  policy  is  limiting 
the  success  of  many  merchants  who  can't  see  why 
they  CAN'T  RUN  BOTH  WAYS  AT  ONCE. 

If  there  is  any  way  that  it  is  possible  to  get  BIGGER 
profits,  it  is  ONLY  by  having  bigger  advertising,  better 
salespeople,  better  store  service,  better  stocks,  and 
the  other  things  that  people  who  buy  expensive  goods 
are  always  willing  to  pay  for.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  there  is  any  way  that  you  can  compensate  the 
public  for  enduring  the  cheapening  process  of  cut- 
ting down  the  store's  expenses,  it  is  only  by  ASKING 

SMALLER  PROFITS. 

75 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  get  away  with  it  in 
any  other  manner.  The  attempt  has  been  made 
continuously,  by  hundreds  of  merchants,  but  has  in- 
evitably met  failure,  as  it  always  must.  The  line  of 
DIMINISHING  RETURNS  is  as  fixed  as  the  phases  of 
the  moon,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  determine  with 
scientific  accuracy. 

There  is  a  very  definite  LIMIT  to  the  profits  that 
may  be  made  on  mere  merchandise.  If  you  ADD 
something  to  the  merchandise  that  has  definite  value 
to  the  customer,  THAT  ALSO  will  be  paid  for,  and  may 
bear  a  profit  of  its  own.  That  additional  thing  may 
be  SERVICE,  or  it  may  be  only  a  LABEL  that  gives 
prestige.  But  what  bride  would  not  gladly  have  her 
fiance  buy  a  cheaper  sideboard,  in  order  to  pay  50 
per  cent,  more  to  have  the  word  Tiffany  on  her 
wedding  ring!  Even  if  the  gold  is  the  same,  the 
weight,  fineness,  and  form  exactly  the  same  as  the 
ring  that  did  not  bear  the  name  and  which  would  have 
cost  so  much  less  money.  The  NAME  has  a  definite 
value,  because  people  know  that  IT  COSTS  MORE. 
Such  is  human  vanity. 

The  shrewd  merchant  does  not  commit  the  folly 

Of    GETTING    THE    BIGGEST    PROFITS    HIS    PUBLIC    WILL 

STAND.  For  he  may  be  out  of  business  when  he 
discovers  that  they  won't  stand  it.  If  he  is  wise,  he 
will  limit  his  profits — BUT  CONSERVE  THEM. 

It  is  not  the  lack  of  sufficient  "mark-up"  profit 
that  brings  a  bad  showing  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
It  is  because  of  carelessness,  lack  of  system,  and 

76 


PROTECTING  YOUR  PROFITS 

absolute  WASTE — the  failure  to  PROTECT  the  profit 
that  you  DO  get.  The  greatest  avenue  of  WASTE 
for  profits  comes  from  unwise  buying  of  large  lots 
of  goods  that  do  not  sell  and  have  to  be  reduced  in 
price.  This  always  makes  a  BIG  cut  into  the  per- 
centage of  average  profits. 

One  great  opportunity  for  continuous  waste  is  in 
reducing  FAR  TOO  MANY  KINDS  OF  GOODS,  in  the  same 
stock,  for  advertising  purposes.  It  is  far  better  to 
make  a  bigger  reduction  on  one  or  two  items  to  use 
as  leaders  in  the  advertising,  and  leave  full  profits 
on  the  other  goods,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  selling  napkins 
at  a  profit  when  you  sell  table  linen  for  little  more 
than  cost.  And  apply  this  same  policy  to  all  lines 
of  merchandise.  The  clever  buyer  will  manage  to 
get  most  of  his  bargain  offerings  at  reduced  prices 
from  the  manufacturers  or  jobbers. 

It  is  very  bad  policy  to  be  continuously  cutting 
down  profits  on  your  regular  goods.  This  makes 
people  suspicious  about  buying  your  regular  lines, 
for  they  never  know  when  they  are  buying  them  at 
the  right  time.  So  it  is  doubly  bad,  destroying 
public  confidence  in  your  prices  and  making  it  ab- 
solutely impossible  for  you  to  maintain  your  re- 
quired percentage  of  profits. 

You  MUST  reduce  goods  when  they  are  bad  and 
must  be  closed  out.  It  should  be  a  rare  occasion 
when  you  reduce  prices  on  your  regular  lines  for  any 
other  reason.  BUY  your  bargains  AT  A  BARGAIN. 
Let  the  manufacturer  or  jobber  stand  the  loss  of 

77 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

profits.  But  DO  NOT  kill  the  goose  that  lays  the 
golden  egg,  either  way.  Don't  be  continuously 
wasting  your  own  profits.  Don't  rob  your  store  of 
its  life  and  interest  by  giving  less  bargains.  Be 
shrewd  enough  to  get  a  good  supply  of  genuine  bar- 
gains AT  THE  OTHER  FELLOW'S  COST.  Then  yOU  Will 

have  no  worries  over  volume  of  sales,  and  you  will 
not  fear  to  face  your  balance  sheet  at  the  end  of  the 
year. 

Of  course,  it  takes  a  fine  sense  of  touch,  almost 
the  instinct  of  genius,  to  know  just  how  far  to  go 
in  marking  prices  on  bargains,  in  holding  on  to 
goods,  at  their  full  prices.  And  it  takes  rare  cour- 
age and  nerve  to  cut  prices  deep  enough  to  get 
SOMETHING  out  of  bad  goods  when  that  action 
is  necessary.  But  THAT  is  what  makes  the  great 
merchant. 

It  is  a  sad  thing  to  be  in  a  business  that  you  do  not 
KNOW.  And  it  is  the  lack  of  this  sense,  this  instinct, 
this  knowledge,  that  makes  the  failures  in  store- 
keeping.  For  the  real  merchant  MUST  have  TWO 
THINGS  continuously:  Volume  of  Sales  and  Sufficient 
NET  PROFIT.  While  the  superficial  thinker  would 
say  that  one  sacrifices  the  other,  the  exact  opposite 
is  true.  Nothing  BUT  volume  of  sales  can  overcome 
the  inertia  of  Fixed  Expenses,  and  provide  the  sur- 
plus profits.  And  volume  of  sales  is  unthinkable, 
and  would  soon  vanish  from  sight,  if  there  were  not 
Net  Profits  to  support  them. 

Maintain  continuously  your  aggressive  campaign  of 

78 


PROTECTING  YOUR  PROFITS 

special  offerings  procured  on  the  market  at  the  other 
fellow's  cost.  PROTECT  YOUR  PROFITS  on  all  regular 
goods.  Then  you  will  have  a  satisfactory  Volume  of 
Sales,  and  a  gratifying  balance  of  NET  PROFITS  at 
the  end  of  the  year. 


79 


CHAPTER  XIII 
GETTING  THE  MOST  OUT  OF  MANUFACTURERS 

A  great  many  merchants  lose  a  great  deal  in  store 
interest,  in  volume  of  sales,  and  in  direct  profits,  by 
their  failure  to  accept  or  secure  the  always  available 
and  tremendously  valuable  cooperation  of  progres- 
sive manufacturers.  The  average  merchant  feels 
toward  the  manufacturer  as  the  agile  cow  does  toward 
the  farmer  who  wants  to  drive  her  home,  to  get  the 
milk,  and  to  put  her  away  for  the  night — perhaps  to 
protect  her  from  an  approaching  storm.  The  cow 
may  not  want  to  go  home;  and  not  knowing  what  is 
best  for  her,  runs  away.  The  farmer  loses  the  milk; 
the  cow  is  unhappy  with  it,  and  may  get  sick  from 
being  out  in  the  cold  storm. 

Many  merchants  have  this  feeling  against  being 
cajoled  into  doing  the  thing  that  would  be  valuable 
to  them,  because  they  SUSPECT  that  the  manufacturer 
may  also  make  some  money  out  of  them.  Of  course, 
the  manufacturer  MUST  make  money  out  of  the  mer- 
chants; but  he  CAN'T  make  money  unless  the  merchant 
SELLS  his  goods  and  makes  HIS  profit  on  all  of  it, 
also.  But,  while  the  manufacturer  is  getting  atten- 
tion to  his  particular  line  of  goods,  he  is  BRINGING 

80 


THE  MOST  OUT  OF  MANUFACTURERS 

PEOPLE  TO  THE  STORE,  where  they  will  see  other 
goods,  and  where  they  will  come  again,  if  they  get 
right  treatment. 

Nothing  in  retailing  is  so  valuable  to  a  store  as 
the  ability  to  profit  by  GOOD  TRADE-MARK  NAMES. 
Known  trade-marks  not  only  establish  the  confidence 
of  the  public  in  the  article,  but  the  owners  of  the 
trade-marks  are  working  with  all  their  brains  every 
day  and  spending  vast  sums  of  money  to  SEND 

PEOPLE  INTO  THE  STORES  THAT  SELL  THE  GOODS  BEAR- 
ING THEIR  TRADE-MARKS.  Not  to  have  those  goods 
in  stock  means  that  the  merchant  is  losing  a  lot  of 
business.  Building  up  your  own  trade-marks  is  a 
policy  that  SOUNDS  well  but  it  is  a  mighty  slow  and 
expensive  policy;  and  all  the  time  your  customers  are 
resenting  the  fact  that  you  are  always  trying  to  sell 
them  "something  just  as  good,"  which  they  don't 
believe  is  half  as  good,  and  usually  isn't. 

Pick  up  any  great  magazine  and  you  will  see  the 
advertising  of  the  thousands  of  articles  that  thou- 
sands of  people  are  going  to  buy.  Yes,  they  are 
GOING  TO  BUY  THEM.  You  can't  stop  them  buying 
those  goods,  no  matter  how  hard  you  fight.  There 
is  a  fixed  law  of  returns  from  all  good  advertising, 
and  the  fact  that  these  trade-mark  goods  are  being 
continuously  advertised  means  that  THEY  ARE  BEING 
CONTINUOUSLY  SOLD,  and  that  the  advertising  is 
profitable — else  it  would  cease. 

If  YOU  are  not  selling  these  goods  that  are  in  such 
big  demand,  WHO  is  GETTING  THE  BIG  BUSINESS? 

81 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

It    is    MIGHTY    BAD    STOREKEEPING    to    CVei*    Say    to    a 

customer  who  asks  for  well-known  goods,  "Madam, 
we  don't  keep  those  goods."  For  she  always  thinks 
there  is  something  wrong  with  your  store,  or  you 
WOULD  keep  them.  It  pays  to  follow  the  line  of 
least  resistance,  and  sell  goods  that  are  EASY  TO  SELL. 
Let  your  competitor  wear  his  heart  out  trying  to 
fight  business  from  coming  into  his  store,  while  you 
sell  people  what  they  ask  for,  and  what  was  sold  to 
them  before  they  came  near  your  store. 

This  thing  of  trying  to  sell  some  nameless  goods, 
that  you  want  to  make  people  think  are  just  as  good 
as  articles  bearing  a  great  trade-mark,  is  like  the 
cashier  in  your  bank  offering  to  give  you  gold  pieces 
without  any  mark  on  them.  He  tells  you  that  they 
are  exactly  the  same  weight  and  fineness  as  the  govern- 
ment's double  eagles.  You  know  that  he  is  an  honest 
man  so  why  don't  you  take  them?  Why  do  you 
insist  on  the  government's  trade-mark  when  the 
other  is  just  as  good?  Why  do  you  begin  to  doubt  the 
cashier's  honesty?  Because  you  WANT  the  certainty 
of  the  government's  trade-mark  and  you  have  a 
right  to  have  it.  And  YOUR  customer  has  just  as 
much  right  to  have  the  goods  she  wants,  with  the 
great  trade-mark  on  it  that  she  respects,  and  the 
standard  of  value  which  SHE  KNOWS.  And  you  have 
NO  RIGHT  to  expect  her  to  take  something  else  be- 
cause of  your  SUPERSTITION  that  manufacturers  are 
always  trying  to  beat  the  retailer,  and  therefore  you 
refuse  to  sell  goods  bearing  his  trade-mark. 

82 


THE  MOST  OUT  OF  MANUFACTURERS 

If  you  have  been  struggling  AGAINST  the  stream  of 
cooperation  with  the  manufacturers  who  do  big 
advertising,  TURN  YOUR  BOAT  AROUND  and  see  how 
much  MORE  MONEY  YOU  WILL  MAKE,  resting  on  these 
particular  oars,  and  taking  the  money  from  the 
thousands  of  customers  that  the  same  big  manu- 
facturers will  drive  into  your  store. 

INVITE  COOPERATION.  Plan  a  great  series  of  Trade- 
Mark  demonstrations  in  your  Store.  Get  into  cor- 
respondence with  twenty  or  fifty  manufacturers 
who  are  big  advertisers.  Ask  them  when  it  will  be 
convenient  to  send  an  exhibition  and  demonstration 
of  their  goods  for  your  store.  Then  ask  them  to 
spend  some  advertising  money  in  your  own  news- 
paper columns.  This  will  produce  live  store  interest 
and  give  you  a  lot  of  free  publicity;  and  incidentally 
create  the  valuable  impression  on  your  public  that 
the  best  place  in  your  city  to  buy  those  well-known 
and  much  wanted  goods  is  IN  YOUR  STORE. 

YOU   do   NOT   HAVE   A   COMPLETE    STORE   while   yOU 

refuse  to  sell  these  great  trade-mark  goods,  and  if 
you  MUST  sell  them,  why  not  get  THE  MOST  OUT  OF 
THEM?  I  have  watched  the  biggest  stores  in  America 
try  to  FIGHT  against  the  trade-mark  goods,  and  they 
have  ALWAYS  LOST  by  it.  I  have  seen  the  Toilet 
Goods  business  go  to  third-rate  stores  because  they 
WOULD  sell  to  their  customers  the  great  trade-mark 
articles,  even  at  cost  and  below  it,  and  the  big  stores 
would  not  handle  them  at  all.  It  was  a  grand  pic- 
ture of  COURAGE,  but  it  was  a  LOST  BATTLE. 

83 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Isn't  it  better  to  accept  a  little  less  profit,  when 
necessary,  for  goods  that  the  manufacturers  SELL 
FOR  YOU,  than  it  is  to  TURN  THESE  CUSTOMERS  AWAY 
FROM  YOUR  COUNTERS  by  not  having  the  goods  in 
stock  that  they  want  and  WILL  BUY  ?  Isn't  it  better 
to  sell  several  times  as  much  goods  than  to  make  a 
slightly  larger  profit,  while  spending  your  own  money, 
and  a  tremendous  lot  of  effort  to  get  your  little  sales 
of  unknown  kinds  of  goods  that  make  people  sus- 
picious about  your  store? 

For  many  years  I  was  like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  I 
"kicked  against  the  pricks,"  as  thousands  of  mer- 
chants are  kicking  to-day.  But  I  got  converted, 
and  to-day  I  say  to  you,  "Open  up  the  big  magazines, 
and  see  what  tremendous  selling  there  is  bound  to  be 
of  these  great  trade-mark  articles.  Then,  put  them 
in  stock  and  out  on  show.  Let  people  knowr  that 
you  are  wide-awake,  and  REAP  THE  HARVEST  that 
the  big  advertisers  are  cutting  for  you." 

Have  a  COMPLETE  STORE.  Sell  people  WHAT  THEY 
WANT.  Get  fullest  benefit  of  BIG  NATIONAL  ADVERTIS- 
ING. Do  whatever  you  wish  with  your  own  goods 
that  doesn't  mislead  your  customers;  but  let  that 
be  a  separate  story.  As  soon  as  you  show  a  dis- 
position to  cooperate  with  the  big  manufacturers 
they  will  do  many  favors  for  you.  Don't  fight  the 
great  current  of  advertising.  Go  with  the  stream. 
Get  the  business  that  it  will  send  you.  And  make 

the  EASY  MONEY. 


84 


CHAPTER  XIV 
MAKING  "BOOSTERS"  OUT  OF  "KICKERS" 

Many  a  store  loses  valuable  opportunities  for  the 
best  possible  sort  of  advertising  by  carelessness,  or 
worse,  about  handling  complaints.  I  have  heard 
managers  say,  again  and  again,  "Oh,  she's  an  old 
grouch — always  kicking  about  something.  I  wish 
she  would  never  come  in  the  store  again."  And 
THAT  is  the  spirit  in  which  a  great  many  complaints 
are  handled. 

Now,  we  all  know  that  the  person  who  makes  a 
particularly  ugly  complaint  is  usually  a  great  gossip. 
The  world  is  full  of  this  kind  of  people,  and  although 
we  may  not  like  them,  we  CAN'T  KILL  THEM,  and  also, 
we  CAN'T  MAKE  THEM  QUIT  TALKING.  But  we  CAN 

DIRECT   THE    SORT    OF   TALKING    THEY    ARE    GOING    TO 
DO. 

We  KNOW  that  if  we  give  scant  courtesy  to  their 
complaint — no  matter  how  unreasonable  it  is — that 
our  store  is  going  to  get  all  the  worst  of  it,  in  that 
person's  conversation,  for  months  to  come.  So  it 
will  pay  us  to  make  an  investment.  THAT  is  why 
Marshall  Field  said,  "The  customer  is  ALWAYS 
RIGHT."  He  didn't  want  this  bad  talk  to  go  around 

85 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEP1NG 

when  he  wouldn't  be  there  to  prove  that  the  talker 
was  a  liar.  So  he  paid  to  get  the  other  kind  of  talk 
going.  What  if  he  DID  get  imposed  upon  very 
frequently?  Isn't  it  better  to  have  people  think  you 
are  "EASY"  than  to  say  that  your  store  is  a  "Trap." 
The  woman  who  "gets  the  best  of  a  store"  is  always 
the  sort  of  a  woman  who  will  brag  about  it.  And 
the  more  she  brags  about  it,  the  more  good  she  is 
doing  your  store. 

When  the  complaint  comes,  you  are  "facing  a 
CONDITION,  and  not  a  theory."  Then,  if  you  decide 
to  accede  to  the  customer's  demand,  for  goodness' 
sake  DO  IT  WITH  KIND  WORDS  AND  A  SMILE.  Don't 
spoil  it  all  by  having  a  grouch  of  your  own.  Do 
it  QUICKLY.  Don't  wait  a  month,  or  a  day.  Don't 
let  the  kicker  get  out  of  your  store  to  say  a  word 
against  you.  She  is  a  talker,  remember,  so  give  her 
something  mighty  GOOD  to  say,  and  she  will  be  out 
saying  it,  and  bringing  back  all  the  money  you  in- 
vested in  her,  and  much  more,  BEFORE  THAT  DAY  is 
OUT. 

I  remember  standing  beside  Mr.  John  Wanamaker, 
one  day,  with  several  other  managers  of  his  New  York 
store,  where  we  were  discussing  some  important 
change  of  the  floor  arrangements,  when  a  woman  passed 
us  whom  we  heard  saying  to  an  aisleman,  "Well,  I 
am  never  coming  into  this  store  again,"  and  she 
hurried  toward  the  door,  which  was  just  a  few  steps 
away.  Yet  it  happened  so  quickly  that  she  was  some 
distance  away  before  it  was  possible  to  act;  and  it  took 

86 


MAKING  "BOOSTERS"  OUT  OF  "KICKERS" 

mighty  quick  action  as  well  as  thought.  I  started 
toward  her,  and  almost  had  to  run  to  catch  her;  but 
I  was  able  to  intercept  her  just  before  she  reached  the 
door. 

I  said:  "Madam,  I  beg  your  pardon,  but  I  am  one 
of  the  managers  of  the  store,  and  I  overheard  what  you 
said  to  the  aisleman  just  a  moment  ago.  I  am  sure 
that  there  has  been  some  blunder  made  by  some  one 
who  is  ignorant  of  our  policy,  and  I  want  to  apologize, 
and,  if  possible,  correct  it.  I  am  sure  that  there 
can  never  be  a  cause  for  your  leaving  this  store 
feeling  as  you  do,  for  which  the  store  policy  can  be 
to  blame.  Won't  you  kindly  tell  me  what  hap- 
pened?" 

She  explained  that  she  had  bought  a  wash  suit  for 
her  boy  two  months  previously,  and  had  gone  away 
to  some  summer  resort,  finding,  after  she  arrived, 
that  the  suit  did  not  fit.  She  supposed  that  she  could 
bring  it  back  any  time,  and  get  it  credited.  She 
said  that  the  head  of  the  department  had  told  her 
that  the  season  for  wash  suits  was  over,  and  that  he 
could  allow  her  only  a  dollar  for  it,  as  the  suits  had 
been  reduced.  She  had  paid  $3.50  for  it.  And 
THIS  was  why  she  was  leaving  Wanamaker's  never  to 
come  back.  And  they  say  it  costs  about  a  thousand 
dollars  to  get  each  charge  customer  for  a  big  New 
York  Store. 

Well,  I  took  the  woman  back  to  the  department, 
and  got  her  credited  with  $3.50  for  the  suit.  Then 
she  bought  a  $7  suit  for  her  boy.  She  also  bought 

87 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

many  other  things  for  her  own  account,  and  made 
purchases  amounting  to  about  $150  for  a  sister  out 
West — probably  $250  worth  of  business  was  making 
a  bee  line  for  the  front  door — with  thousands  of 
dollars'  worth  of  future  business  from  her.  All  for 
$2.50  refused  (perhaps  justly)  in  credit. 

When  I  got  back  to  where  Mr.  Wanamaker  was 
still  standing,  he  said,  "How  in  the  world  did  you  do 
it?"  (He  had  witnessed  the  entire  action.)  I  said, 
"By  merely  stating  your  store's  policy  of  satisfying 
every  customer."  He  replied:  "Well,  that  is  the 
best  piece  of  work  that  you  will  do  to-day." 

There  was  a  woman  mad  enough  to  do  a  lot  of  bad 
talking  about  Wanamaker's,  for  she  would  have 
needed  to  go  a  mile  to  the  next  store,  and  then  stand 
the  loss  of  the  suit.  Instead,  I'll  warrant  that  she  is 
still  talking  every  now  and  then  about  that  manager 
at  Wanamaker's  who  settled  that  man  who  wouldn't 
credit  the  suit.  And  thereby  scores  of  her  friends 
are  being  continuously  made  to  know  that  John 
Wanamaker  never  permits  his  customers  to  be  dis- 
satisfied IF  HE,  OR  ANY  OF  HIS  MANAGERS,  HEARS 
THE  COMPLAINT. 

Customers  of  that  character  are  too  hard  to  get 
to  lose  any.  And  they  are  never  permitted  to  go  out 
to  say  bad  things  about  the  store,  even  if  it  does  cost 
a  little  now  and  then  to  keep  them  saying  good  things. 

GOOD  WILL  is  the  chief  asset  of  any  store,  and 
Good  Will  is  the  "sensitive  plant"  of  business.  It 
suffers  from  the  slightest  touch.  Even  an  untruth 


MAKING  "BOOSTERS"  OUT  OF  "KICKERS" 

does  enormous  damage,  for  you  can  never  catch 
up  with  the  lie.  Where  bad  things  are  constantly 
being  said  about  a  store,  the  loss  to  the  concern 
is  almost  incalcuable  But,  where  the  store,  by  its 
policy  and  management,  can  so  please  its  public 
and  so  handle  complaints  as  to  get  nice  things  con- 
stantly said  about  it,  there  is  an  asset  growing,  in 
GOOD  WILL  that  has  a  cash  value,  of  many  MILLIONS 
in  New  York,  or  other  city  of  the  first  class,  and  of 
many  thousands  of  dollars  in  the  smaller  cities. 
And  so,  when  a  serious  complaint  is  heard  in  your 
store,  or  comes  to  your  store  by  letter,  it  may  be 
YOUR  OPPORTUNITY  to  so  handle  it  that  it  will  add 
tremendously  to  the  GOOD  WILL  of  your  business. 
Entertain  these  strangers,  for  they  may  be  angels 
unawares. 

Too  many  merchants  leave  the  matter  of  com- 
plaints to  cheap  clerks  to  handle.  They  consider 
this  work  merely  as  an  expense,  and  want  to  get  it 
handled  as  cheaply  as  possible.  And  these  cheap 
clerks  may  have  only  brains  enough  to  want  to  beat 
the  customer  into  keeping  something  she  doesn't 
want,  or  making  her  believe  that  the  store  couldn't 
possibly  have  given  her  better  service  than  it  did — 
which  PROVES  to  her  that  it  is  not  a  sufficiently  good 
store  for  her  to  deal  with  again. 

Beware  of  turning  over  such  a  vital  and  priceless 
thing  as  your  store's  GOOD  WILL  to  the  care  of  cheap 
and  ignorant  clerks.  Seize  upon  every  Kicker  thank- 
fully as  the  opportunity  to  create  another  BOOSTER 

89 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

for  your  business.  If  YOU  act  with  this  vital  thought 
in  mind,  your  business  will  grow  bigger  and  more 
profitable.  If  you  leave  this  important  matter  in 
poor  hands,  you  may  begin  to  wonder  why  your 
trade  is  falling  off,  and  the  public  going  to  a  store 
that  doesn't  seem  to  you  to  be  as  good  as  yours. 


90 


CHAPTER  XV 

PUTTING  EMPHASIS  ON  BARGAINS  WITHOUT 
USING  BIG  SPACE 

During  the  past  dozen  years  Advertising  has 
grown  tremendously  in  volume.  Stores  that  were 
then  using  one  column  regularly  and  two  or  three 
columns  for  one  big  splurge  each  week,  are  now 
using  full  pages  EVERY  DAY.  And  most  stores  are 
now  leaving  out  the  advertising  of  several  depart- 
ments every  day,  because  there  isn't  any  space  left 
in  which  to  print  these  excess  items. 

BIG  SPACE  has  come  to  be  the  only  measure  of 
importance  about  an  advertised  event,  because  the 
public  has  been  led  to  believe  that  the  store  always 
uses  great  big  space  for  any  announcements  that  are  of 
exceptionally  large  interest. 

In  the  big  stores  that  I  have  advertised  for  there 
has  always  been  abundant  space  provided,  and  this 
question  did  not  need  the  thought  that  many  other 
stores  must  give  to  it.  And  yet,  I  have  discovered 
and  many  times  proven  that  a  very  small  space  could 
be  given  tremendous  importance  by  the  manner  in 
which  the  items  were  introduced. 

When  a  Big  Sale  is  planned,  where  ALL  depart- 

91 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

ments  must  provide  very  strong  items,  they  all  ex- 
pect big  space  in  which  to  print  their  individual 
offerings.  But  right  then  is  the  chance  to  place 
each  announcement  in  a  small  box,  in  small  type; 
yet,  by  the  strength  with  which  the  general  heading 
is  written,  EACH  OF  A  HUNDRED  OFFERINGS  is  given 
all  the  strength  and  emphasis  that  it  would  have 

IF  THE  ENTIRE  HEADING  WAS  WRITTEN  FOR  IT  ALONE. 

And  THAT  is  what  makes  a  tremendous  day's  sales, 
with  only  a  normal  day's  advertising. 

The  chief  thing  to  be  accomplished  is  to  CHANGE 
THE  FACE  OF  THE  ADVERTISING,  and  make  it  look 
entirely  different  from  the  way  it  looks  every  other 
day.  Both  women  and  printers  call  it,  "Putting 
on  a  new  dress."  Sometimes  big  type  will  accomplish 
this.  The  next  time  it  will  be  best  done  with  small 
type.  Variety  and  striking  CHANGE — novelty  of  ar- 
rangement— are  the  effects  required.  All  ^of  this 
is  much  easier  to  accomplish  when  you  have  a  Big 
Sale  to  exploit.  The  more  perplexing  question  is, 
<4How  to  gain  the  largest  EMPHASIS,  without  resort- 
ing to  Big  Space,  for  DAILY  BARGAINS?" 

This  can  be  done  only  by  establishing  a  policy  of 
"trade-marking"  your  strongest  items  each  day. 
And  it  may  require  a  year  of  this  method  before  the 
public  begins  to  thoroughly  understand  what  you 
are  doing.  But  it  is  like  the  most  valuable  kind  oi 
life  insurance,  and  is  WORTH  INFINITELY  MORE  THAN 

IT  COSTS  TO  DO  IT  TEN  YEARS,  if  yOU  DO  IT  RIGHT,  and 

have  then  created  an  asset  that  will  be  of  untold 

92 


EMPHASIS  ON  BARGAINS 


value  all  your  life,  and  which  will  be  the  most  valu- 
able legacy  you  leave  to  your  heirs. 

This  is  the  method  that  I  suggest:  have  espe- 
cially designed  a  Monogram  of  the  firm's  initials,  or 
use  the  firm's  trade-mark,  if  one  exists,  in  some  such 
form  as  is  here  suggested : 


Monogram  at  top 
Bargain  at  bottom. 


MONOGRAM 


B 


BARGAIN 


The  "A,  B,  C"to 
be  drawn  as  a 
Monogram. 


If  the  Monogram  is  drawn  good  and  strong,  and 
an  artistic  border  surrounds  it,  it  will  make  a  strik- 
ing trade-mark,  which  can  be  reproduced  in  a  cut 
about  one  inch  square,  and  a  dozen  or  so  of  these 
trade-mark  cuts  can  be  made  for  use.  Then,  when 
you  have  a  very  strong  offering — GENUINE,  desirable, 
and  one  worth  putting  REAL  EMPHASIS  upon,  INSERT 
THE  TRADE-MARK  CUT  in  the  body  of  that  paragraph 
to  identify  it. 

In  inaugurating  this  system  it  will  be  necessary  to 
make  a  LARGE  and  imposing  ANNOUNCEMENT  of  the 
Policy  in  your  Advertising — reproducing  the  Trade- 
Mark  Cut,  and  telling  HOW  you  are  going  to  use  it 
in  future.  State  EMPHATICALLY  that  this  cut  will 
NEVER  BE  SEEN  except  in  connection  with  an  excep- 
tionally strong  and  decisive  Bargain  that  is  GUAR- 

93 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

ANTEED  to  be  extraordinary  value  by  the  FIRM. 
Then,  in  using  the  Trade-Mark  Cut,  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  the  buyer  to  PROVE  TO  THE  FIRM,  or  the 
Firm's  representative,  EVERY  TIME  THAT  IT  is  ASKED 
FOR,  that  the  goods  to  be  offered  is  a  GENUINE, 
NEWLY  ADVERTISED  BARGAIN,  worthy  of  the  Firm's 
Guarantee. 

The  Advertising  Manager  should  never  insert  the 
Monogram  Bargain  Cut  without  the  Firm's  0.  K.  on 
the  Monogram  Bargain  MERCHANDISE.  This  Policy 
should  be  established  with  the  most  jealous  care 
and  protection,  and  should  become  one  of  the  prides 
of  the  Firm,  and  it  would  grow  to  become  a  marvel- 
lous power  in  the  advertising,  NO  MATTER  HOW  SMALL 

THE  TYPE  THAT  WAS  USED  IN  PRINTING  THE  BARGAIN. 

During  the  first  six  months  the  Policy  was  being 
introduced,  there  should  be  printed,  under  each 
Monogram  Bargain  announcement,  the  following 
"Note,"  in  10-point  Italics:  "It  is  a  Law  of  our 
Advertising  that  our  Monogram  Bargain  Trade-Mark 
shall  be  printed  only  in  connection  with  an  offering 
of  merchandise  of  GENUINE  extraordinary  value,  IN- 
SPECTED and  GUARANTEED  by  the  Firm,  or  their  rep- 
resentative." 

The  space  that  will  be  taken  for  the  constant 
repetition  of  this  paragraph  will  be  far  more  than 
made  up  by  the  small  size  of  the  space  that  will  be 
required  for  the  entire  advertisement  when  printed 
in  this  manner  and  under  this  policy.  And  it  will  be 
building  an  asset  of  marvellous  value  for  the  future. 

94 


EMPHASIS  ON  BARGAINS 

But  this  whole  plan  depends  for  its  success  UPON  THE 
FIRM  themselves.  It  MUST  be  inaugurated  in  a 
STRONG,  whole-hearted  way.  It  MUST  be  HONEST, 
through  and  through,  month  in  and  month  out.  And 
it  must  have  the  backing  and  the  personal  watching 
of  the  Firm.  But  after  a  year  of  honest  effort,  it 
will  do  wonders  in  your  Advertising.  You  can  throw 
away  your  dictionary  of  adjectives.  Or,  better 
still,  you  can  keep  all  your  adjectives  and  all  your 
Big  Space  for  the  better  use  of  ADVERTISING  YOUR 

REGULAR  GOODS  AT  REGULAR  PRICES,  WITH  FULL 
PROFITS. 

You'll  find  a  marvellous  difference  in  the  selling 
of  your  goods  when  you  are  able  to  turn  the  old 
advertising  cart  around  and  take  SMALL  SPACE  for 
advertising  Bargains,  and  are  able  to  use  the  BIG 
SPACE  for  real  money-making  advertising — for  talk- 
ing about  your  fine  new  goods,  and  for  telling  your 
public  more  about  your  store  and  your  service. 

Bargains  should  tell  their  own  story  in  mighty  few 
words,  but  the  public  has  been  educated  the  wrong 
way.  This  method  will  help  bring  the  advertising 
appropriation  back  to  its  proper  use.  And  it  may 
help  you  to  SPEND  LESS  FOR  ADVERTISING,  though 
primarily,  it  is  intended  to  BRING  TREMENDOUSLY 

GREATER  RETURNS  FROM  THE  ADVERTISING  THAN 
YOU  ARE  NOW  DOING. 


95 


CHAPTER  XVI 
USING  JIU-JUTSU  IN  MERCHANDISING 

The  Japanese  Science  of  Self-Defence  has  been  one 
of  the  physical  marvels  of  modern  times  to  the  West- 
ern world.  The  little  Jap  takes  advantage  of  the 
savage  thrust  of  the  big  pugilist  opposing  him,  and 
turns  all  the  power  of  the  blow  that  is  aimed  at 
him  into  an  invincible  force  to  overwhelm  his 
antagonist.  The  same  methods  may  be  applied  in 
Merchandising  to  gather  part  of  the  harvest  of  the 
price  cutter — leaving  the  cost  of  the  advertising  to 
your  competitor,  while  giving  him  the  worst  of  the 
contest. 

In  its  simplest  state,  this  policy  means  that  when 
your  big  or  little  competitor  comes  out  with  a  boast- 
ful advertisement  of  cut  prices  on  trade-mark  arti- 
cles, or  other  well-known  goods,  YOU  QUIETLY  MARK 

YOUR    GOODS    AT   THE    SAME    PRICES    OR    LESS.       Don't 

rush  into  the  papers  with  still  lower  cuts,  to  smash 
profits  still  more,  and  DON'T  SHOW  THE  PUBLIC  THAT 

YOU  HAVE  BEEN  STUNG.      ACT  AT  ONCE,  SO  that  when 

customers  come  into  your  store  they  will  find  the 
advertised  goods  marked  at  the  low  prices  WHILE 

YOU  ARE  NOT  MAKING  ANY  FUSS  ABOUT  IT  AT  ALL. 

96 


USING  JIU-JUTSU  IN  MERCHANDISING 

Thus  the  public  will  see  that  your  competitor's  big 
boast  has  been  made  about  something  that  is  quite 
the  ordinary  thing  in  your  store. 

One  case  of  the  successful  use  of  jiu-jutsu  occurred 
twenty  years  ago  in  Altoona.  The  big  department 
store  started  to  cut  prices  on  school  slates  at  the  time 
schools  were  opening.  The  little  bookstore  on  the 
next  block  put  the  same  folding  slate  in  its  window 
for  a  cent  less.  (It  was  a  10  cent  slate.)  The  depart- 
ment store  finally  got  its  price  down  to  ONE  CENT, 
which  was  exactly  what  the  clever  stationer  wanted, 
and  he  sent  home  the  body  blow  by  a  card  in  his 
window  which  read:  "Our  big  competitor  is  selling 
these  slates  for  1  cent.  Come  to  us  and  WE  WILL 

GIVE  YOU  THE  GENT!" 

Of  course,  nobody  asked  him  for  the  cent,  but  he 
got  the  whole  town  talking  about  his  store,  and  they 
also  came  to  realize  that  the  stationer's  prices  were 
always  watchfully  low.  His  expenses  were  small, 
and  he  let  the  big  store  do  the  advertising  while  he 
got  his  money  from  the  crowds  that  went  to  the  big 
store  by  his  clever  window  cards  and  his  shrewdly 
priced  merchandise. 

But  the  jiu-jutsu  method  is  quite  as  valuable  to  the 
large  store  as  it  is  to  the  small  one.  It  frequently  enables 
the  big  store  to  defeat  the  efforts  of  a  little  competitor 
without  sacrificing  its  dignity  by  advertised  recogni- 
tion. As  soon  as  a  merchant  comes  to  realize  that 
his  competitor  is  going  to  cut  his  prices  the  moment 
that  his  own  cut-price  advertisement  appears,  he  is 

97 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

going  to  take  a  second  thought  before  spending  his 
money  for  that  sort  of  thing. 

The  game  of  Slam-Bang  price  cutting  is  rather 
out  of  date.  It  is  bad  for  the  manufacturer,  and 
it  is  getting  to  be  futile  for  the  store — and  it  has 
always  been  very  destructive  of  profits.  To-day  the 
cost  of  doing  business  calls  for  more  scientific  ways 
of  getting  customers.  The  War  of  Frantic  Competi- 
tion is  too  costly. 

There  will  always  be  legitimate  bargains,  and  a 
demand  for  them,  and  they  must  be  used  to  bring 
business;  but  smashing  prices  on  brand-new  bread- 
and-butter  stocks  is  a  losing  game — especially  when 
you  are  burning  up  your  money  to  exploit  goods  that 
you  don't  want  to  sell.  Let  the  other  fellow  spend 
HIS  money  to  exploit  such  bargains,  and  sell  at  his 
cut  prices,  AT  HIS  EXPENSE. 


98 


CHAPTER  XVII 

REDUCING   COMPLAINTS   AND   EXPENSES   IN   YOUR 
DELIVERY  DEPARTMENT 

Here  is  one  of  the  biggest  problems  of  Storekeeping, 
and  it  is  growing  bigger  and  harder  of  solution  every 
day.  What  merchant  has  not  looked  with  envy  upon 
the  5  &  10  cent  store,  and  the  dealer  in  candy  or 
books,  who  have  practically  no  delivery  problem 
at  all?  In  your  store,  after  the  sale  is  made,  half 
of  the  expense  and  worry  is  just  begun.  The 
goods  may  be  lost  or  damaged — it  may  go  to  the 
wrong  address — the  wrong  goods  may  be  sent — it 
goes  C.O.D.  when  it  should  be  charged — or  the 
boy  may  be  impolite  when  he  brings  it  to  the  cus- 
tomer's door. 

Who  has  not  spent  days  and  nights  worrying  about 
the  Delivery  Department?  Surely  the  Advertising 
Manager  should  be  permitted  to  escape  these  trou- 
bles. But  it  wasn't  so  with  me.  I  discovered  that 
the  "Delivery  Department,"  with  its  trouble-breeding 
ally,  the  Packing  Department,  sometimes  killed  off 
customers  as  fast  as  the  Advertising  could  bring  new 
customers  in,  and  it  was  always  piling  up  figures  of 
Expense  that  tore  a  deep  gash  in  the  Net  Profits. 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

So  I  couldn't  escape:  for  my  mind  was  always  work- 
ing for  the  whole  business. 

Fundamentally,  two  great  principles  are  wrong  in 
present  store  ideas  about  Delivery — that  is  why  no- 
body can  discover  the  cure  under  present  conditions: 

1.  It  is  economically  unsound  for  each  store  to 
build   up   and   maintain   its   individual   Delivery 
System,   and   have   either   six   or   sixty   concerns 
covering  the  same  routes  each  day,   with  inde- 
pendent deliveries.     That  is  definite  and  costly 
WASTE. 

2.  The  Packing  method  of  to-day  seeks  to  pro- 
tect every  article,  from  all  other  articles,  by  thick 
and  expensive  wrapping,  so  that  a  piece  of  glass 
may  be  thrown  in  a  wagon  with  furniture  and  not 
get  broken.    This  wastes  the  time  of  packers  and 
costs  frightfully  for  packing  material. 

Yet  no  store  that  I  know  of  has  ever  accepted  the 
idea  of  dissecting  its  merchandise  for  delivery— 
except,  in  the  largest  stores,  where  furniture  and 
pianos  have  their  own  deliveries.  Let  me  suggest 
that  you  start  just  one  wagon,  or  car,  in  charge  of 
your  most  careful  driver  and  helper,  for  the  delivery 
of  FRAGILE  merchandise — and  DON'T  PACK  THE  PIECES 
AT  ALL.  Have  trunks  in  the  wagon.  Place  the  loose 
pieces  in  the  trays,  with  loose  blankets  laid  between. 
Pad  the  trunks  and  the  trays,  and  make  additional 
padded  compartments. 

100 


COMPLAINTS  AND  EXPENSES 


What  you  save  in  packing  material  and  packing 
TIME  will  quickly  pay  for  the  cost  of  the  trunks  and 
blankets.  Address  tags  are  simply  tied  to  the  pieces 
of  China  or  Glass.  Then  there  is  no  nasty  litter 
for  the  customer  to  bother  with  when  goods  are  de- 
livered. There  is  no  chance  for  either  driver  or 
customer  to  break  the  wares  when  unpacking.  The 
driver  always  knows  that  the  goods  are  fragile,  and 
he  doesn't  lay  the  responsibility  on  a  bushel  of  ex- 
celsior to  save  the  glass  bowl  or  the  lamp.  This 
plan  will  reduce  the  cost  and  the  Complaints  from 
the  delivery  of  fragile  wares  FIFTY  PER  CENT. 

You  can  start  with  ONE  wagon  for  Fragile  Wares,  as 
an  experiment,  and  increase  the  number  of  vehicles 
as  conditions  suggest.  Reduce  the  quantity  of  pack- 
ing material  RADICALLY — get  as  near  to  the  UNWRAPPED 
idea  as  possible,  and  develop  protective  COMPART- 
MENTS in  your  delivery  wagons  for  fragile  things, 
and  your  Delivery  SERVICE  will  be  infinitely  more 
satisfying  to  customers,  while  it  will  reduce  your 
Expenses  enormously.  Turn  the  old  boat  around- 
run  with  the  stream — and  you'll  get  twice  as  far 
with  half  the  cost  and  trouble. 

Local  Retail  Associations  are  doing  wonders  for 
the  betterment  of  storekeeping  conditions.  One  thing 
they  should  do  to  REDUCE  THE  COST  OF  LIVING — the  cost 
of  doing  business,  and  the  troubles  of  merchants — is 
to  create  a  cooperative  Delivery  System,  or  rather 
to  develop  a  local  Express  business  that  will  effi- 
ciently deliver  the  merchandise  sold  by  ALL  STORES. 

101 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

It  has  been  a  superstition  with  merchants  that 
individual  Delivery  Wagons  were  stupendously  valu- 
able Advertising.  But,  after  giving  many  years  of 
thought  to  the  question,  it  is  my  unqualified  opinion 
that  most  Store  Delivery  Wagons  Advertise  a  Store's 
WEAKNESS  rather  than  its  strength:  for  the  BEST 
delivery  service  makes  frequent  errors,  and  ONE 
ERROR  makes  a  stronger  and  more  lasting  impression 
than  a  hundred  deliveries  perfectly  made.  What- 
ever the  Advertising  value  may  be,  it  is  vastly  less 
than  its  present  cost.  The  amount  of  money  it 
requires  would  do  infinitely  more  good  for  the  busi- 
ness if  spent  in  legitimate  advertising  channels. 

This  is  a  matter  that  local  Retail  Associations 
should  study  and  develop.  Don't  judge  the  matter 
from  the  equipment  or  efficiency  of  your  present 
existing  local  deliveries:  for  the  Cooperative  Mer- 
chandise Delivery  or  Express  would  be  equipped  and 
managed  under  the  supervision  of  the  most  efficient 
and  able  Delivery  knowledge  and  experience  existing 
in  ALL  the  local  stores,  and  with  all  the  ideas  that 
could  be  gathered  from  other  cities,  from  express 
companies,  and  from  the  Parcel  Post. 

In  reducing  complaints  from  your  Delivery  Serv- 
ice it  is  important  to  realize  what  kind  of  a  man  or 
boy  hands  your  goods  to  the  customers,  and  HOW 
it  is  done.  Too  many  stores  feel  that  Delivery  Serv- 
ice is  rough  work,  and  that  rough  men  must  be  ac- 
cepted in  this  work. 

A  successful  Delivery  Service  may  not  demand  the 

102 


COMPLAINTS  AND  EXPENSES 

immaculate  uniform  and  the  perfect  manners  that 
are  the  standard  of  B.  Altman  &  Co.,  but  neither  will 
it  tolerate  the  coatless,  undisciplined,  impolite,  and 
dirty  driver  that  is  so  often  seen  dragging  a  large 
package  along  the  ground,  to  throw  it  in  the  door  of 
the  customer's  house,  with  the  remark,  "Gosh, 
missus,  I  ain't  got  time  to  take  it  upstairs  and  un- 
pack it — I'd  never  get  done  workin'  for  everybody." 

The  customer  never  realizes  the  amount  of  work 
that  the  driver  has  to  do,  or  how  far  he  must  go  to 
cover  his  route.  She  only  knows  that  she  buys  a 
lot  of  goods  from  your  store,  and  that  she  will  have 
to  go  and  get  a  man  to  take  the  bundle  or  box  up- 
stairs if  your  man  doesn't  do  it,  and  she  thinks  she 
should  be  given  the  two-minute  service  as  part  of 
the  good  will  that  she  earns  by  being  your  customer. 

It  is  just  as  important  that  the  delivery  boy  should 
be  polite  and  helpful  as  it  is  for  the  salesman.  And 
it  will  reflect  just  as  disastrously  upon  the  store  if  he 
is  not.  Every  unit  of  your  organization  stands  for 
YOU  whenever  the  customer  is  touched,  and  your 
store  is  no  better  than  the  worst  act  of  your  worst 
employee.  That  is  why  the  standard  of  service 
must  be  maintained  at  every  point.  That  is  why 
the  work  of  EDUCATION  must  be  followed  every  day, 
throughout  every  division  of  your  entire  organiza- 
tion. 

Every  driver  and  delivery  boy  must  be  made  to 
realize  that  the  store's  reputation  DEPENDS  UPON  HIM 
and  the  way  he  performs  his  work.  There  should 

103 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

be  constant  instruction  and  help  for  the  delivery 
employees,  and  there  should  be  records  of  work  and 
complaints,  and  there  should  be  monthly  prizes  for 
those  that  give  best  service.  The  more  you  take 
your  Delivery  men  into  your  confidence,  the  better 
service  they  will  render.  If  you  ignore  them  be- 
cause they  have  rough  work  and  are  so  far  away  from 
the  counters,  they  will  go  from  bad  to  worse,  and 
do  your  business  harm  all  year  round.  With  proper 
attention,  oversight,  and  recognition,  and  prizes  for 
good  work,  the  Delivery  organization  will  become 
less  of  a  menace  to  your  business,  and  even  a  factor 
for  good. 


104 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CARRYING  TOO  MANY  COMPETING  LINES 

There  are  two  things  that  a  progressive  store  knows 
it  should  do,  and  yet  few  stores,  however  well  mer- 
chandised, are  able  to  accomplish  doing  in  anything 
like  the  manner  that  they  know  they  should.  First, 
always  have  COMPLETE  stocks  to  supply  everything 
that  the  customer  has  a  right  to  expect.  Second, 
operate  on  the  smallest  amount  of  Capital  that  will 
properly  conduct  the  business. 

It  has  long  since  been  recognized  as  extreme  folly 
to  use  larger  capital  than  necessary  just  because  you 
have  it.  Not  only  is  it  a  sheer  waste  of  interest  on 
the  money,  but  too  much  liberality  on  this  point 
leads  to  definite  CARELESSNESS  in  both  financing  and 
buying.  The  actual  loss  of  interest  on  the  unneces- 
sary money  is  far  the  least  damage  done  by  unscien- 
tific merchandising.  It  produces  a  condition  in  the 
store's  merchandise  that  is  just  like  a  man  accumulat- 
ing a  vast  amount  of  FAT.  It  reduces  activity  of 
turnover.  It  creates  a  deadly  sluggishness.  It  fos- 
ters and  generates  disease.  For  there  can  be  most 
serious  diseases  in  merchandise  stocks. 

The  knowledge  of  this  fact  has  caused  the  evolu- 

105 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

tion  of  the  modern  Merchandise  Manager  as  a 
restraint  on  careless  buying.  The  Merchandise  Man- 
ager and  the  Buyer  are  usually  in  conflict.  The 
latter  is  always  inclined  to  overbuy,  and  the  former 
is  apt  to  starve  stocks  that  need  vital  merchandise. 
The  ideal  condition  is  very  hard  to  arrive  at.  Too 
much  restraint  is  liable  to  bring  the  croak  of  the 
ravens,  "Out  of  stock."  Too  much  freedom  brings 
dangerous  obesity  of  stocks.  Hence  the  Firm  must 
hold  a  guiding  hand  over  the  two  conflicting  forces. 
This  brief  presentation  of  the  matter  is  made  to  lead 
up  to  the  most  fertile  field  for  stock  improvement. 

Most  stores  carry  in  stock  representative  assort- 
ments of  goods  from  three  or  four,  or  maybe  more, 
sources  of  supply.  For  instance,  the  store  may  show 
lines  of  rugs  from  Bigelow,  Whittall,  Hardwick  & 
Magee,  and  Hartford  Co.  In  the  endeavor  to  show 
some  of  ALL  of  these  famous  makes,  the  store  may 
NEVER  have  a  COMPLETE  assortment  of  any  of  them. 
For  instance,  the  customer  sees  a  9  x  12  ft.  Hartford 
Rug  that  she  likes,  but  later  decides  that  she  needs 
it  in  the  10  ft.  6  in.  by  12  ft.  size,  and  you  do  not  have 
the  pattern  in  that  size.  Then  you  have  to  do  all 
your  selling  over  again,  with  the  deadly  feeling  in  the 
customer's  mind  that  she  doesn't  like  anything  but 
the  pattern  that  she  saw  in  the  smaller  rug.  So  she 
finally  decides  to  drop  the  matter  for  the  present — 
which  means  that  she  is  going  to  your  competitor 
to  try  and  find  the  rug  she  likes,  in  the  size  she  wants. 

You  may  be  very  sure  that  she  won't  find  it  there, 

106 


CARRYING  COMPETING  LINES 

but  she  will  probably  find  a  good  salesman  there, 
and  when  she  learns  that  she  can't  get  the  exact  rug 
she  wants  in  either  store,  she  will  usually  buy  at  the 
last  store  she  is  in,  because  she  doesn't  want  the 
bother  of  coming  back  to  you,  or  even  admitting  to 
you  that  she  couldn't  find  what  she  wanted  else- 
where. But  yOU  HAVE  LOST  THE  SALE  OF  A  RUG  that 

was  sold  by  you  if  you  had  had  the  right  size  in 
stock. 

The  other  disadvantage  of  having  competing  lines 
is  that  you  leave  too  much  to  the  judgment  of  the 
customer.  It  is  always  better  to  rely  on  her  having 
confidence  in  YOUR  judgment.  Make  up  your  mind 
as  to  which  of  these  great  lines  of  rugs  is  best:  buy 
that  line,  and  then  endorse  the  line.  Don't  decide 
until  you  do  honestly  believe  in  the  line  you  select, 
then  YOU  can  make  the  decision  for  the  customer,  and 
you  can  keep  FOUR  TIMES  AS  GOOD  AN  ASSORTMENT 
of  sizes  and  colorings  in  the  ONE  line  as  you  could 
keep  of  the  four  competing  lines  on  the  same  capital. 
Thus  you  eliminate  indecision  in  the  customer's 
mind,  and  you  have  four  times  as  good  a  chance  to 
have  the  right  size  in  the  wanted  pattern. 

You  can  change  the  word  "Rugs"  to  any  other 
merchandise  you  sell,  from  men's  collars  to  pianos- 
shoes,  gloves,  underwear,  hats,  stockings.  The  secret 
of  good  stock-keeping  is  CENTRALIZING  YOUR  STRENGTH. 
The  store  that  eternally  has  ONE  GOOD  LINE  COMPLETE 
is  going  to  win  always  from  the  store  that  has  a  VAST 
ASSORTMENT  OF  JOB  LOTS.  Any  good  store  has  a 

107 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

constituency  that  depends  upon  it  for  advice  and 
recommendation  of  goods  just  as  definitely  as  patients 
depend  upon  the  advice  and  instructions  given  them 
by  their  favorite  physician. 

People  who  believe  in  a  store  want  to  be  told 
definitely  by  that  store,  or  by  the  salesman  that 
waits  on  them,  just  which  goods  is  BEST.  And  how 
dare  the  salesperson  say  which  of  four  lines  of  rugs 
is  best  when  expert  opinion  is  absolutely  divided,  or 
indefinite,  and  when  HE  DOESN'T  KNOW  IN  WHICH 

LINE  THE  CUSTOMER  MAY  FIND  THE  PATTERN  THAT 
SHE  WILL  LIKE? 

If  this  vital  question  is  decided  BEFORE  THE  LINE 
is  PUT  IN  that  store  has  a  policy,  and  the  salespeople 
can  honestly  live  up  to  it.  Then  can  they  say  in  all 
sincerity:  "We  carry  this  line  because  we  believe 
it  to  be  the  best  on  the  market."  And  THAT  is  what 
the  customer  has  a  right  to  expect  to  be  told.  There 
MUST  not  be  any  uncertainty  about  the  statement  if 
the  sale  is  to  be  satisfactorily  and  promptly  made, 
and  the  goods  are  to  STAY  SOLD. 

Think  of  going  to  your  Doctor  and  having  him 
say  to  you:  "Now  there  are  several  things  that  will 
fix  you  up  all  right,  and  I  am  prepared  to  let  you 
select  any  of  them  that  you  like  best,  for  any  of  them 
will  bring  the  result  that  you  want.  Here  are  some 
quinine  pills,  here  is  a  strychnine  tonic,  here  is  as- 
perin,  here  is  castor  oil,  which  is  always  good.  Or 
you  can  use  a  mustard  foot  bath.  Even  a  hot  toddy, 
before  you  go  to  bed,  would  probably  knock  the 

108 


CARRYING  COMPETING  LINES 

trouble  out  of  you."  What  would  you  think  of  that 
doctor? 

In  scientific  storekeeping  it  is  just  as  weak  and 
silly  to  mix  up  your  customers  with  TOO  MUCH  TO 
SELECT  FROM,  and  having  your  stocks  complex  and 
confusing,  as  it  would  seem  to  you  to  have  a  doctor 
who  left  it  to  you  to  pick  your  own  poison.  If  you 
believe  in  yourself  and  your  store,  LET  THE  PEOPLE 
KNOW  IT  in  no  indefinite  words.  If  you  convince 
them  that  you  believe  in  yourself,  they  will  believe  in 
you.  If  you  are  in  doubt  about  yourself,  how  can  you 
expect  the  public  to  believe  in  you? 

SIMPLIFY  your  stocks.  Maintain  the  stocks  you 
have  in  ABSOLUTE  COMPLETENESS.  Always  be  able 
to  say  definitely,  "We  believe  this  to  be  THE  BEST." 
Thus  you  conserve  your  capital.  You  strengthen 
your  salespeople.  And  you  CONVINCE  and  SATISFY 
your  customers. 


109 


CHAPTER  XIX 

PLANNING  A  BIG  FEBRUARY  OCCASION  WITH 
MANUFACTURERS'  HELP 

February  is  a  month  when  you  must  fight  hard  for 
business.  Winter  remains,  but  people  are  supposed 
to  be  supplied  with  most  of  the  necessaries,  and 
often  weather  is  so  bad  that  people  stay  at  home. 
Then  it  is  too  early  to  get  spring  things  selling  with- 
out some  tremendous  stimulus  to  create  public 
interest.  This  chapter  should  help  you  to  prepare, 
A  FULL  MONTH  AHEAD,  for  a  Big  Event  about  the 
middle  of  February,  or  even  a  little  later,  according 
to  your  special  conditions  and  the  geographical 
location  of  your  store. 

All  through  January  manufacturers  and  jobbers 
are  showing  you  goods  for  the  Spring  Trade.  This 
is  the  time  to  SET  YOUR  TRAP  FOR  THEM.  This  year 
you  must  get  more  out  of  them  than  you  ever  have 
gotten  before,  and  something  that  should  help  might- 
ily with  boosting  your  whole  Spring  business  as  well 
as  adding  prestige  to  your  store. 

EVERY  TIME  YOU  BUY  A  BILL  OF  GOODS  insist  on 
getting  with  them  one,  two,  or  three  SPECIAL  LOTS 

OF    FINE    MERCHANDISE    AT    A    VERY    BIG    REDUCTION 

110 


A  BIG  FEBRUARY   OCCASION 

for  your  February  Event.  Don't  accept  seconds,  or 
undesirable  goods,  for  this  occasion.  Of  course,  you 
will  not  demand  trade-mark  goods,  or  such  staples  as 
have  a  fixed  price;  but,  since  old  goods  and  clean-up 
lots  have  been  offered  by  you  all  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, you  can  only  arouse  new  enthusiasm  on  the 
part  of  the  public  by  being  able  to  announce  NEW 
AND  DESIRABLE  GOODS  at  liberal  reductions  from 
regular  prices. 

Let  us  hope  that  some  day  we  may  get  away  from 
the  necessity  of  such  violent  stimulation  to  promote 
business  during  the  dull  months.  Perhaps,  some  day, 
manufacturers  will  not  have  surplus  lots  of  really 
desirable  merchandise.  But  to-day  they  still  have 
them,  and  certain  big  stores  are  being  made  very 
special  offerings  for  their  mid-season  events,  in  goods 
that,  to  the  public,  have  all  the  attractiveness  of  the 
very  latest  patterns  or  styles. 

And  so  long  as  this  policy  is  in  force — so  long  as 
manufacturers  and  importers  are  meeting  the  de- 
mands of  big  retailers,  and  even  suggesting  such 
offerings  to  them,  so  long  the  progressive  merchant 
in  the  smaller  city  should  demand  like  treatment  and 
equal  bargains. 

It  has  been  made  a  crime  for  railroads  to  give  re- 
bates to  big  corporations  whose  traffic  by  its  volume 
formerly  tempted  railroads  to  adopt  that  form  of 
solicitation.  Some  time,  doubtless,  the  same  ethical 
standard  will  be  legally  applied  to  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness; but  UNTIL  THAT  HOPED-FOR  TIME  ARRIVES 

111 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

the  most  effective  way  to  force  fairly  uniform  treat- 
ment for  large  stores  and  small  ones,  is  for  every  dealer 
to  demand  for  himself  all  the  favors,  discounts,  re- 
bates, and  special  prices  that  are  offered  or  allowed 
to  any  store  anywhere. 

By  January  every  manufacturer  knows  of  certain 
patterns  among  his  new  goods  that,  for  some  un- 
known reason,  have  not  sold  as  well  as  others,  and, 
under  special  pressure,  he  will  cut  the  price  several 
weeks  early,  on  his  surplus  quantity,  at  least.  But 
you  must  supply  the  manufacturer  with  a  reasonable 
EXCUSE  for  cutting  his  price,  and  your  FEBRUARY 
OCCASION  supplies  the  excuse.  It  is  also  to  his  inter- 
est, as  well  as  yours,  to  make  your  sale  a  success; 
for  we  all  know  that  the  majority  of  the  goods  sold  in 
any  special  event  are  sold  at  regular  prices.  So,  the 
more  goods  you  sell,  the  more  quickly  you  will  be 
able  to  send  another  order  to  the  manufacturer 
who  has  cooperated  with  you  for  your  February 
Event. 

If  the  manufacturer,  or  his  salesman,  does  not 
accept  the  opportunity  to  cooperate,  you  are  cer- 
tainly justified  in  saying  to  him,  "Well,  my  friend, 
the  man  who  gets  my  regular  orders  is  going  to  show 
a  little  more  interest  in  helping  me  promote  my  busi- 
ness than  you  have  shown.  You  have  goods  that 
I  want,  for  which  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  pay 
your  regular  prices.  But  I  need  some  help  to  pull 
through  February,  and  I  must  get  it  from  the  man 
who  sells  me  regular  goods.  That  is  why  there  is 

112 


A  BIG  FEBRUARY  OCCASION 

nothing  doing  if  you  haven't  enough  interest  in  my 
store  to  do  me  this  little  favor."  Well,  he  will  take 
the  order.  And  you  will  get  the  goods. 

Apply  this  method  to  EVERY  PURCHASE  YOU  MAKE 
this  Spring,  whether  from  a  salesman  on  the  road  or 
when  you  make  purchases  in  the  market  yourself  or 
through  your  buyers.  You  will  be  amazed  to  see 
what  can  be  done.  And  when  all  the  SPECIAL  GOODS 
arrive  for  your  Big  Event  you  will  be  ready  to  buy 
double  pages  of  space  in  the  newspapers  to  tell  a 
story  that  will  be  the  most  extraordinary  that  you 
ever  printed:  for  you  will  be  able  to  offer  ADVANCE 
STYLES  and  GOODS  OF  THE  COMING  SEASON  for  MUCH 

LESS  THAN  THE  SAME  GOODS  WILL  COST  LATER  ON. 

THAT  will  make  a  genuine  sensation  that  will 
grow  bigger  when  people  come  and  ACTUALLY  FIND 

THE  CONDITIONS  TRUE  AS  STATED.       THAT  will  induce 

people  to  BUY  IN  ADVANCE,  and  so  wear  things  early, 
and  BUY  THEM  TWICE  OVER,  thus  increasing  the  pos- 
sibilities of  your  Spring  business  immensely. 

Buying  these  extra  goods  should  not  cut  down  your 
regular  orders  at  all,  for  the  stimulus  from  this  Event, 
instead  of  cutting  into  your  regular  business,  WILL 
INCREASE  IT  ENORMOUSLY  if  the  plan  is  rightly  car- 
ried out.  Of  course,  it  MAY  cut  into  your  competi- 
tor's business,  and  it  will  very  probably  not  only 
take  away  a  lot  of  his  immediate  sales,  but  it  should 
secure  a  lot  of  his  customers  for  you  PERMANENTLY 

if  yOU  LIVE  UP  TO  THE  REPUTATION  YOU  WILL  MAKE. 


113 


CHAPTER  XX 
CREATING  DAILY  STORE  INTEREST 

The  larger  events  for  promoting  store  interest  and 
prestige  must  not  come  too  often  and  become  com- 
monplace, else  they  eventually  lose  their  drawing 
power  when  their  novelty  is  gone.  Great  Annual 
or  Semi-Annual  Sales  have  large  value,  but  if  the 
store  attempts  to  use  them  four  times  a  year,  or 
every  other  month,  they  get  so  common  that  they 
do  not  bring  the  old  response  when  their  real  occasion 
arrives.  The  clever  merchant  must  protect  his 
periodic  events  and  yet  keep  people  interested  EVERY 
DAY  IN  THE  YEAR.  And  THAT  becomes  a  serious  prob- 
lem. 

Most  merchants  fail  for  the  old  reason  of  crying 
"Wolf,  wolf,"  every  day.  Words  used,  and  the 
manner  of  statement,  are  all  important.  For  daily 
use  nothing  is  so  good  as  the  "  bargain  counters." 
Most  stores  use  their  main  aisles  for  this  purpose, 
and  the  public  always  expects  to  find  bargains  there. 
A  much  better  plan — bringing  infinitely  greater  good 
to  the  whole  store — is  to  use  the  most  prominent 
aisle  counters  for  the  display  of  new  things  sold  at 
full  profits. 

114 


CREATING  DAILY  STORE  INTEREST 

The  handsomest  goods  you  possess  should  be 
placed  out  where  everybody  can  see  them  WHILE 
THEY  ARE  NEW.  Counters  that  possess  the  strongest 
selling  power  should  be  used  to  sell  the  goods  that 
you  most  desire  to  sell.  On  the  other  hand,  bargains, 
especially  when  sold  at  little  profit,  should  be  USED 

TO  DRAW  PEOPLE  RIGHT  INTO  THE  REGULAR  DEPART- 
MENTS OF  THE  STORE.  If  people  come  into  the  store 
to  find  the  bargains,  they  will  go  to  the  section  where 
they  are  sold  when  they  come. 

No  store  can  be  a  success  if  people  are  not  well 
distributed  throughout  the  ENTIRE  BUILDING.  What 
is  the  use  of  having  a  large  building  IF  YOU  DO 

BUSINESS  ONLY  ON  THE  MAIN  FLOOR?      It  has  always 

seemed  to  me  to  be  a  TREMENDOUS  WASTE  OF  REAL 
POWER  to  sell  on  the  main  aisles  goods  that  had  the 
attractiveness  to  pull  crowds  of  people  to  the  BACK 
of  the  store,  or  up  to  other  floors  that  would  not 
otherwise  be  busy.  Then,  in  justice  to  the  particular 
department  that  produced  the  bargain,  that  section 
should  have  the  advantage  of  getting  into  it  the  crowds 
that  the  bargain  brings. 

People  who  come  to  buy  bargains  always  buy  other 
goods,  and  the  department  that  makes  the  sacrifice 
of  profits  to  make  the  bargain  should  have  the  best 
possible  chance  to  sell  its  regular  merchandise,  AT 
FULL  PROFITS,  to  those  who  find  they  don't  want 
the  bargain,  or  who  require  other  items  from  the  same 
stocks.  If  the  bargains  are  sold  on  the  main  aisles 
and  the  regular  stocks  are  on  the  fifth  floor,  the  bar- 

115 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

gain  customers  are  rarely  of  any  use  to  the  regular 
department. 

A  merchant  in  the  far  West  devised  one  of  the 
best  plans  I  ever  heard  about  for  arousing  daily 
bargain  interest  in  his  great  new  store — one  of  the 
finest  in  the  country.  His  plan  is  to  have  special 
offerings  in  one  section  and  another,  EVERY  DAY— 
well  distributed  throughout  the  entire  store.  These 
daily  specials  are  identified  by  portable  GREEN 
LIGHTS — moved  daily,  as  the  bargains  change  their 
character  and  location. 

The  advertising  merely  arouses  public  interest  by 
saying  "  Watch  for  the  Green  Lights."  And  wherever 
a  green  light  is  seen  there  is  always  a  NEW  and 
GENUINE  bargain  offering.  The  green  lights  are 
NEVER  used  to  fool  the  people  into  going  to  see  a  com- 
monplace offering.  Hence  they  never  lose  theii 
drawing  power. 

In  addition  to  the  light  being  GREEN,  this  merchant 
had  the  electric  lights  put  on  an  eccentric  connection 
that  made  the  lights  go  up  and  down,  producing  a 
recurring  flash  effect.  The  green  light  appears,  then 
disappears — thus  catching  the  eye  more  quickly 
than  a  steady  light  would  do. 

Of  course,  all  stores  would  not  care  to  go  to  this 
expense,  but  all  stores  can  have  portable  electric 
lights  with  GREEN  globes,  or  some  other  distinctive 
color.  And  if  this  smaller  expense  is  not  desired, 
another  simpler  way  is  little  less  effective.  Cards 
in  a  bright  shade  of  green,  or  other  selected  color, 

116 


CREATING  DAILY  STORE  INTEREST 

may  be  used,  and  by  proper  advertising  be  brought  to 
identify  the  daily  bargain  offerings. 

If  this  is  done,  there  should  be  no  confusing  cards 
used.  All  others  should  be  white,  and  the  green 
cards  should  be  promptly  removed  each  day — as 
the  whole  plan  loses  its  force  and  effectiveness  once 
its  freshness  is  destroyed.  It  is  most  important 
that  the  same  bargains  shall  not  be  repeated  day 
after  day.  People  must  be  kept  curious  as  to  what 
will  be  the  new  bargains  at  your  store  each  day,  and 
THAT  curiosity  will  cause  them  to  visit  it  as  often 
as  possible  if  the  plan  is  intelligently  worked  and 
honestly  and  cleverly  merchandised.  This  plan  may 
be  worked  either  with  or  without  the  bargains  being 
specifically  advertised.  But  the  advertising  should 
remind  the  public  EVERY  DAY  to  "Watch  for  the 
Green  Cards  for  big  bargains  changed  every  day." 

The  whole  plan  depends  for  its  success  upon  the 
character  of  the  bargains  that  you  give.  They 
MUST  be  good  and  HONEST.  They  need  not  be  in 
large  quantities,  because  they  are  "for  ONE  day  only," 
which  justifies  selling  out  quickly;  and  this  is  espe- 
cially true  if  they  are  not  specifically  advertised  in  the 
papers,  for  you  can  place  OTHER  bargains  under  the 
cards,  and  have  new  cards  made  when  the  bargain 
goods  sell  out.  The  loss  need  not  be  large.  In 
fact,  10  cent  Towels,  priced  at  9  cents  for  the  day, 
would  make  an  ideal  offering.  One  dollar  Dress 
Goods,  at  92  cents  for  the  day,  might  be  good  enough* 
IF  REAL.  But  dress  goods  that  had  been  selling  for 

117 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

95  cents  could  never  be  called  $1  goods  at  92  cents, 
and  bring  successful  business. 

One-day  bargains  should  ALWAYS  be  most  desir- 
able STAPLE  goods.  The  old  stock,  thai  can  never 
go  back  to  its  former  price,  should  not  be  put  under 
the  green  cards  as  one-day  bargains,  but  should 
be  marked  for  what  it  is,  and  left  at  its  bargain  price 
until  sold,  and  the  card  used  to  describe  it  should  be 
white. 

If  you  institute  this  Green  Card  plan,  and  have  a 
LIMITED  number  of  strong,  GENUINE  bargains,  changed 
EVERY  DAY,  you  will  find  it  a  wonderful  tonic  to  your 
business.  But  it  must  be  handled  INTELLIGENTLY. 
It  must  NOT  become  a  perfunctory  duty.  It  must 
not  be  left  to  the  half-hearted  or  half-honest  effort 
of  department  heads.  The  firm,  or  the  firm's  com- 
petent representative,  must  act  on  each  bargain 
every  day — for  no  one  else  will  realize  the  importance 
of  what  is  being  done — not  only  for  the  one  day,  but 
for  the  permanent  good  of  the  entire  business. 


118 


CHAPTER  XXI 
PLANNING  FOR  CHRISTMAS 

The  Christmas  season  is  the  merchant's  Harvest. 

Once  each  year  the  purse  strings  of  every  living  being 
are  loosened.  And  if  the  being  is  half  human,  the 
purse  is  opened  wide.  And  the  other  fact  must  not 
be  forgotten:  MOST  OF  THESE  SAME  POCKETBOOKS 
ARE  SHUT  UP  TIGHT  as  soon  as  Christmas  is  over. 
"Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot,"  means  TO  YOU:  SELL 

FAST  WHILE  THE  PEOPLE  ARE  BUYING. 

Christmas  plans  should  all  be  made  before  Thanks- 
giving Day.  If  all  of  your  Christmas  goods  are 
bought,  your  study  now  is  how  to  display  them  and 
arrange  them  for  easy  seeing  and  QUICK  BUYING.  The 
well-arranged  Store  is  ELASTIC.  This  means  that  you 
should  be  able  to  move  your  fixtures  around  to  meet 
Holiday  conditions.  Perhaps  this  is  impossible  in  your 
store.  Then  you  will  need  to  move  many  stocks. 

On  December  1st  practically  all  staple  stocks 
should  be  condensed  into  the  smallest  possible  space. 
Of  course,  nothing  should  be  done  that  will  actually 
inconvenience  customers,  but  a  little  thoughtful 
planning  will  enable  you  to  do  the  needed  thing  with- 
out upsetting  regular  business. 

119 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

One  thing  you  MUST  DO  to  create  the  best  possible 
effect,  and  make  the  strongest  possible  impression 
on  your  public:  you  must  make  your  place  LOOK 
JLIKE  A  TOTALLY  DIFFERENT  STORE.  That  is  the  great 
secret  of  creating  public  enthusiasm.  You  must 
create  the  CHRISTMAS  ATMOSPHERE  in  your  store, 
because  it  makes  people  breathe  the  Christmas 
Spirit,  and  then  they  are  ready  to  buy  your  mer- 
chandise more  freely.  So  all  staple  departments 
must  be  set  back,  and  ALL  HOLIDAY  STOCKS  ENLARGED 

TO  THE  LIMITS  OF  STORE  POSSIBILITIES. 

The  fullest  results  can  only  be  secured  when  you 
are  able  to  make  your  entire  building  over  into  a  vast 
CHRISTMAS  STORE.  This  gives  you  fine  talk  for  your 
advertising,  and  it  gives  the  vital  impression  to  the 
public  when  they  come  to  the  store.  Your  decorators 
should  study  their  plans  carefully,  to  give  the  store 
the  finest  dress  that  it  has  ever  known.  They  should 
make  it  radically  different  from  what  it  has  ever  been 
before.  You  should  secure  beautiful  store  and  win- 
dow cards  to  express  the  Christmas  thought  in  con- 
nection with  ALL  your  merchandise.  But  your  chief 
thought  must  be  as  to  what  goods  you  will  put  on 
each  shelf  and  on  each  counter. 

Prepare  your  counters  for  SELLING.  Arrange  every 
counter  and  table  so  that  it  will  literally  pull  the 
money  out  of  people's  pocketbooks.  Make  a  dia- 
gram of  all  your  counters  and  aisle  tables.  Then 
indicate,  far  ahead,  what  you  are  going  to  put  on 
each  one.  Don't  waste  a  single  counter  on  common- 

120 


PLANNING  FOR  CHRISTMAS 

place  goods.  You  may  think  I  am  asking  a  good 
deal.  But  remember  that  you  can  take  away  the 
commonplace  look  from  most  goods  by  adding  the 
right  Christmas  touch. 

No  matter  how  staple  the  goods  is  that  you  wish  to 
put  on  the  counter,  it  deserves  careful  thought  as 
to  what  would  make  it  more  attractive  and  more 
tempting  as  a  Christmas  gift.  THOUGHT  is  the  im- 
portant thing.  DON'T  DO  THINGS  THE  OLD  WAY. 
There  are  thousands  of  other  ways.  Study  them  up. 
Big  success  comes  more  from  thoughtful  study  than 
from  genius,  or  being  told  just  what  to  do. 

Arrange  your  entire  store  for  the  Holiday  displays, 
but  remember  that  the  greatest  power  in  bringing 
people  to  your  store  at  Christmas  time  is  the  CHIL- 
DREN. Make  big  plans  to  entertain  the  Children. 
Santa  Glaus  is  forever  the  Children's  idol.  His 
popularity  never  grows  less. 

The  cleverest  idea  for  interesting  the  Children 
that  I  have  ever  known  was  the  Christmas  Store  at 
Gimbel's  run  by  Bear  Brothers.  How  the  children 
loved  those  big  Polar  Bears,  and  how  their  eyes  snapped 
in  wonder  as  to  what  prize  the  bears  would  give 
them.  The  Prize  Package  held  marvellous  fascina- 
tion for  the  little  folks — and  it  was  a  wonderful 
money  maker  for  the  store.  Think  of  selling  many 
thousands  of  ready-wrapped  packages — containing 
articles  that  THEY  HAD  NEVER  SEEN.  No  waste  of 
time  in  making  the  selection.  All  wrapping  done 
days  or  weeks  before  the  rush.  Then,  best  of  all, 

121 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

the  SURPRISE  for  the  youngster — and  the  joys  of 
anticipation — for  the  package  was  rarely  opened  until 
the  youngster  got  it  home. 

This  was  done  at  Gimbel's  with  a  $1,000  vending 
machine,  but  YOU  CAN  DO  THE  SAME  THING  AT  PRAC- 
TICALLY NO  COST  AT  ALL.  Arrange  your  own  little 
Prize  Store  in  a  space  10  x  15  feet,  or  more,  if  your 
store  permits.  Then  have  one  of  your  clever  sales- 
people dress  up  as  Santa  Claus  or  Father  Bear,  as 
you  prefer;  or,  if  you  prefer  to  use  a  woman,  dress 
her  up  as  Mother  Hubbard  or  Mrs.  Santa  Claus. 
As  soon  as  your  toy  stocks  come  in  start  wrapping 
up  the  prize  packages.  Select  articles  for  boys  and 
wrap  them  in  white  paper.  Articles  for  girls  wrap  in 
pink  paper.  You  should  also  arrange  them  in  groups 
for  various  ages — so  that  each  youngster  gets  an 
article  that  will  be  suited  to  him  or  her.  The  Gimbel 
price  was  25  cents  each  package.  In  London  the 
price  was  6d — 12  cents. 

It  is  wisest,  I  think,  to  have  only  one  price,  as  that 
saves  time  and  makes  it  simpler.  But  some  fathers 
and  mothers  want  something  better  for  their  young- 
sters, and  it  might  be  worth  while  to  have  a  shelfful 
of  "Prizes  de  Luxe"  at  $1  each,  to  fill  such  a  demand, 
but  not  displayed  so  as  to  spoil  the  full  appreciation 
of  the  10  cent  or  25  cent  packages  sold  by  thousands. 

You  will  be  gratified  to  discover  that  this  very 
profitable  "Prize  Package  Store"  will  delight  the 
little  folks  far  more  than  a  Punch  &  Judy  show,  or 
any  other  attraction  that  you  might  put  in,  which 

122 


PLANNING  FOR  CHRISTMAS 

would  be  only  an  expense.  They  will  be  fascinated 
by  the  actions  of  Santa  Glaus  or  Father  Bear,  and 
the  mystery  of  what  may  be  in  the  prize  package 
is  the  greatest  temptation  of  all.  Every  parent  who 
brings  a  child  to  see  it  simply  MUST  buy  one  or  more 
packages. 

This  store  feature  can  be  quite  as  effectually  used 
at  Easter  time — selling  eggs  and  Easter  toys.  Then* 
Father  Rabbit  or  Mother  Bunny  should  have  charge^ 
of  the  store. 

KEEP  YOUR  ENTIRE  STORE  BRIGHT.  It  is  wonderful 
what  a  decorative  effect  LIGHT  has  on  a  store.  It 
makes  your  merchandise  worth  more  because  every- 
thing looks  so  much  better.  Then  it  has  a  cheering 
effect  on  the  customers.  Don't  be  stingy  with  the 
light  during  the  Christmas  season. 

Keep  your  merchandise  MOVING.  If  something 
isn't  selling  where  it  is — don't  let  it  get  stale.  Move 
it  to  some  other  table.  Arrange  it  differently.  If 
it  proves  to  be  a  poor  seller  CUT  THE  PRICES.  DON'T 

KEEP  ANY  HOLIDAY  GOODS  TO  SELL  AFTER  CHRISTMAS. 

Keep  your  eyes  open  all  the  time  and  sell  your  goods 
while  the  crowds  are  coming.  Sell  them  at  a  profit 
if  possible — BUT  SELL  THEM. 

Watch  your  counters.  Don't  let  the  goods  sell 
out  without  filling  in  promptly.  Get  things  out  of 
the  stockrooms  and  down  on  the  counters  as  quickly 
as  you  can.  Thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
do  not  sell  because  they  have  never  been  shown,  or 
have  been  shown  TOO  LATE.  Somebody  forgot  them 

123 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

altogether.  Buyers  and  managers  get  too  busy,  and 
salespeople  don't  know. 

Make  plans  early  for  your  newspaper  Advertising. 
Get  bright,  attractive  pictures,  full  of  the  Christmas 
Spirit,  and  with  tempting  gift  suggestions.  Com- 
mand public  attention  by  your  striking  announce- 
ments and  the  REAL  NEWS  that  you  print.  If  you 
do  not  have  original  drawings  for  your  advertis- 
ing, there  are  good  cuts  to  be  had,  and  you  should 
have  your  supply  ready  for  a  good  live  campaign 
on  the  first  day  of  December. 

Never  take  it  for  granted  that  people  know  your 
store,  or  that  you  have  Holiday  Goods.  For  good- 
ness' sake  don't  advertise  "Full  Line  of  Holiday 
Goods  Now  Ready."  Nobody  on  earth  wants  "holi- 
day goods."  But  a  statement  like  "We  have  the 
most  interesting  collection  of  really  desirable  Gift 
Things  that  we  have  ever  shown,"  is  likely  to  arouse 
a  lot  of  interest  IF  TRUE.  And  you  must  MAKE  IT 
TRUE.  And  your  advertising  should  tell,  every  day, 
a  good,  strong,  human  interest  story  about  some  of  the 
attractive  goods — just  what  it  is,  what  it  is  good  for, 
why  it  is  attractive  for  gifts,  and  every  really  inter- 
esting fact  about  it.  Of  course  it  takes  ability  and 
skill  to  write  advertising,  but  thoughtful,  earnest 
effort  will  develop  ability.  THINK. 

Start  EARLY  and  talk  over  each  individual  stock 
with  the  buyer.  See  how  much  space  can  be  given 
up  for  holiday  goods.  Ask  him,  or  her,  what  can  be 
done  this  year  that  has  never  been  done  before  to 

124 


PLANNING  FOR  CHRISTMAS 

sell  more  Christmas  goods.  Get  a  definite  working 
plan  adopted  by  every  one.  Get  them  THINKING, 
and  keep  them  at  it.  Get  them  out  of  last  year's  rut 
— and  KEEP  THEM  OUT.  Do  every  good  thing  that 
was  done  last  year.  Then  do  a  lot  more. 

The  chief  thing  is  to  make  plans  that  will  provide 
a  fine  display  space  for  all  the  Special  Holiday  Goods. 
Plan  for  fine  window  displays  that  will  give  people  a 
sensation  to  talk  about  to  their  friends.  Get  your 
Advertising  Plans  all  ready.  Get  plenty  of  holly 
decorated  cards  for  your  merchandise  all  over  the 
store. 

Call  a  meeting  of  all  your  people.  Tell  them  what 
big  things  you  want  to  do  this  Christmas,  and  how 
much  you  are  depending  upon  them,  individually, 
to  help  you.  Ask  for  suggestions.  Get  some  of 
your  people  to  talk  right  up  in  meeting,  and  ask 
others  to  write  their  suggestions  and  send  them  to 
you.  Get  everybody  ENTHUSIASTIC  about  the  Christ- 
mas business.  Get  everybody  THINKING  and  WORK- 
ING for  big  things.  Encourage  their  ideas — good  or 
bad — if  given  with  best  intent  and  real  thought. 
Then  use  the  good  ones.  You'll  be  amazed  to  see 
how  much  REAL  SOUND  HELP  you'll  get. 

I  don't  believe  there  is  a  store  anywhere,  employ- 
ing from  a  dozen  people  to  several  thousand,  that 
hasn't  got  real  bright  minds  in  it  that  only  need 
opportunity  to  bring  them  out.  It's  up  to  you  TO 
BRING  THEM  OUT.  Start  RIGHT  NOW — and  see  how 
much  bigger  your  Christmas  business  will  be. 

125 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  HOUSEWARMING  FOR  THE  CHRISTMAS 
TOY  STORE 

We  have  just  two  weeks  to  make  plans  for  the  great 
Holiday  Opening  and  the  Harvest  Time  of  Gift 
Selling.  Of  course,  you  have  your  toy  stock  ready. 
Now  we  must  prepare  an  Occasion  that  will  set  the 
whole  town  talking — ESPECIALLY  THE  CHILDREN. 

What  wonderful  salesmen  the  children  are!  When 
you  can  make  their  eyes  pop  open  with  delight,  and 
quicken  their  imaginations,  filling  them  with  desire 
for  your  goods,  you  are  BOUND  TO  SELL  THEM,  for 
they  will  TALK  AND  TALK,  and  plead  with  their  parents 
until  they  buy  the  things  they  crave.  The  great 
problem  always  is:  how  to  create  a  store  feature 
that  will  draw  all  the  children  of  the  city  to  your 
store,  and  so  fill  them  with  delight  with  what  they 
have  done  and  seen  that  they  will  forget  that  any 
other  store  exists. 

Here  is  my  Plan:  the  Toy  Store  should  be  ready 

to  open  the  day  after  Thanksgiving.     Certainly  not 

later  than  Tuesday,  December  1st.     The  first  day 

—or  better,  the  first  two  days — of  the  Opening  should 

be  devoted  to  a   Reception,   or  "Party,"   for  the 

126 


THE  CHRISTMAS  TOY  STORE 

children  of  your  city.  They  should  be  invited  by 
large  newspaper  advertising,  with  striking  illustra- 
tions to  catch  the  youngsters'  eyes.  The  Party 
may  be  given  by  Santa  Glaus,  or  by  a  fine  big  Doll— 
the  "Queen  of  Christmas,"  and  a  dozen  big  dolls 
should  be  on  the  "Reception  Committee." 

The  Toy  Section  should  be  handsomely  decorated, 
and  all  the  Christmas  things  put  out  where  the  chil- 
dren can  see  them  and  get  their  hearts  set  on  them. 
For  the  Reception  Days,  a  large  section  of  the  store 
in,  or  alongside  of,  the  Toy  Department  should  be 
devoted  to  the  Buffet  Banquet  Table,  where  real 
refreshments  should  be  served  to  the  children.  This 
table  should  be  attractively  decorated,  and  on  one 
side  the  dozen  Dolls  of  the  "Reception  Committee" 
should  be  seated,  while  the  other  side  of  the  table  is 
used  for  a  buffet  service  to  the  children,  who,  of 
course,  will  be  served  while  standing,  and  who  (if 
the  crowds  are  great)  will  take  their  refreshments  a 
few  steps  aside  to  eat  and  drink  them — bringing  the 
cup  and  saucer  back  afterward. 

The  Buffet  Banquet  Table  should  be  arranged  as 
follows: 

(DOLLS)  (DOLLS)  (DOLLS) 


0,0    0000000000 

o 

o 

o 

0 

O  0 

00000000000000 

0    O 

(Children  standing,  should  be  served,  at  each  place.) 

127 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  refreshments  should  be  a  small  cup  of  choco- 
late, with  two  small  cakes  (Nabisco  or  lady  fingers), 
and  two  or  three  pieces  of  candy  laid  on  the  side  of 
the  saucer.  This  will  be  a  complete,  dainty,  and  per- 
fect service,  and  yet  the  cost  will  be  quite  insig- 
nificant, and  anybody  can  serve  the  children  from  the 
far  side  of  the  table.  A  Serving  Table,  somewhere 
at  the  side,  can  be  arranged  to  receive  the  soiled  cups 
and  saucers  if  the  crowds  are  too  great  to  have  them 
set  back  on  the  Banquet  Table.  In  order  to  avoid 
giving  more  than  one  service  to  each  child,  tickets  for 
refreshments  may  be  provided  and  given  out  as  each 
child  enters  the  store. 

The  idea  of  the  "Party,"  so  impressively  brought 
out  by  the  Dolls'  Banquet  Table  and  the  actual 
refreshments,  will  leave  an  infinitely  stronger  effect 
on  the  mind  of  the  children  than  souvenirs  costing 
many  times  the  price;  and  the  mother  who  would 
think  a  ten-cent  souvenir  too  mean  for  the  trouble 
of  bringing  her  child,  will  be  delighted  with  such  a 
dainty  and  wholesome  "treat"  for  her  little  one. 

The  "Party"  idea  will  prepare  the  minds  of  the 
little  folks  to  carry  home  a  pleasantly  exaggerated 
impression  of  your  Holiday  Store,  and  they  will  not 
only  talk  about  it  for  days  at  home,  but  they  will 
discuss  the  "Party"  and  your  store  at  school  and  at 
Sunday  school  and  everywhere  they  go — producing 
for  you,  at  very  small  cost,  the  most  valuable  and 
lasting  advertising  that  your  Toy  Store  could  pos- 
sibly get  in  your  city.  And,  of  course,  THEY  WILL 

128 


OffAR 

EUfWT 

OATP 

CLERK 

342 

343 

344 

345 

349 

350 

358 

TOTALS 

NUMBER  CUSTOMERS 
APPROACHED 

22 

21 

9 

11 

17 

19 

3* 

'  130 

SOLO 

1  ARTICLE 

15 

12 

0 

7 

11 

14 

21 

83 

MORE  THAN  1 

1 

3 

' 

1 

1 

2 

1 

to 

EXCHANGE 

1 

1 

2 

CO'JID  NOT  HAVE 
SIZE  DESIRED 

1 

1 

.'    t 

DID  NOT 
LIKE  STYLE 

I 

2 

COULD  NOT  GET 
EXACTLY  WHAT 
WANTED  OR  DECIDE 

2 

3 

r 

2 

2 

3 

13 

DID  NOT 
RAVE  MERCHANDISE 
ASKED  FOR 

2 

1 

2' 

5' 

WAITING  FOR 
SOMEONE 

1 

t 

JUST  LOOKING 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

7 

SOLD-     76.9% 
UNSOLD-  23.1% 

This  chart  shows  how  many  sales  were  lost  by  different  clerks  and  why 


THE  CHRISTMAS  TOY  STORE 

INSIST  ON  HAVING  THEIR  CHRISTMAS  PRESENTS  BOUGHT 

AT  YOUR  STORE — and  their  mothers  will  be  equally 
grateful  for  your  having  given  their  darlings  a  de- 
lightful treat  and  a  unique  and  happy  day. 

The  DIRECT  result  will  be  that  most  of  the  children 
of  your  city  will  be  powerfully  drawn  to  the  "Party," 
and  WILL  HAVE  SEEN  THE  TOYS  and  other  gift  things 
WITH  THEIR  OWN  EYES — and  many  will  have  brought 
their  parents  with  them.  And  THAT  is  the  most  that 
you  can  hope  for  any  advertising  to  do.  The  goods 
must  do  the  rest — with  the  help  of  rightly  educated 
salespeople. 

All  arrangements  should  be  made  EARLY  in  No- 
vember for  the  "Children's  Buffet  Banquet  Party," 
so  that  you  will  not  find  that  the  needed  space  has 
been  taken,  or  that  something  needs  to  be  done  that 
cannot  be  done  in  a  hurry.  If  this  Party  is  given  in 
a  fine,  liberal  manner,  and  enthusiastically  advertised, 
your  store's  reputation  for  the  coming  Christmas 
business  will  be  magnificently  established.  But,  if 
you  are  mean  with  your  refreshments,  or  not  tactful 
in  handling  the  children  when  they  accept  your  in- 
vitation, you  had  better  not  do  it  at  all. 


129 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  BIGGEST  SALES-MAKING  FACTOR  OF 
THE  CHRISTMAS  SEASON 

In  November  you  are  adding  many  more  people 
to  your  selling  force,  and  the  most  important  work 
to  be  done  is  to  EDUCATE  these  new  people.  The 
next  important  thing  is  to  put  new  ginger  and  selling 
force  into  your  regular  salespeople.  Don't  put  new 
salespeople  behind  your  counters  to  find  their  own 
way  and  pick  up  knowledge  from  their  fellow  clerks. 
Don't  risk  big  holiday  selling  and  your  store's  pres- 
tige by  such  costly  oversight.  Yet  that  is  exactly 
what  THOUSANDS  of  stores  will  do. 

Perhaps  you  think  you  are  TOO  BUSY  to  bother  with 
such  work  now.  Your  Manager  is  head  over  ears 
moving  counters  and  stocks.  The  buyers  are  work- 
ing nights  to  get  the  Christmas  goods  out.  NOBODY 
has  a  minute  to  teach  salespeople  anything.  Such 
is  ALWAYS  the  condition  at  this  time.  That  is  why 
the  most  vital  thing  that  requires  doing  at  Christmas 
time  is  rarely  done.  Of  course,  you  can't  give  HOURS 
to  this  educational  work;  but  you  can,  and  you  MUST, 
give  fifteen  minutes  EVERY  DAY  next  week,  or  you 
may  lose  thousands  of  dollars  and  offend  hundreds 

130 


THE  CHRISTMAS  SEASON 

of  good  customers.  Simply  make  a  schedule  for 
fifteen  minutes'  talk  to  one  third  of  your  salespeople 
each  morning  a  half  hour  after  your  people  get  to 
work.  In  this  way  you  will  be  able  to  talk  to  your 
entire  force  TWICE  during  the  week. 

Don't  attempt  to  teach  them  everything  about 
SALESMANSHIP  in  twice  fifteen  minutes.  Confine 
yourself  to  the  VITAL  things  of  the  moment.  Let 
the  Superintendent  or  the  aislemen  teach  your  people 
the  technical  things.  You  must  STIMULATE  them, 
and  get  them  in  THE  RIGHT  ATTITUDE  of  mind  toward 
their  work  and  their  customers.  Impress  them  with 
their  IMPORTANCE  to  the  whole  season's  success. 
The  goods  all  bought,  everything  ready  for  THEM 
to  sell.  On  their  work  depends  the  success  or  failure 
of  the  whole  holiday  season. 

Teach  your  people  to  SMILE.  Do  YOU,  yourself, 
fully  realize  the  CASH  VALUE  OF  A  SMILE?  Do  you 
understand  how  a  smile  CREATES  a  friendly  feeling 
even  for  a  total  stranger?  Do  you  realize  how  a 
customer  warms  up  and  becomes  receptive  to  the 
words  and  suggestions  of  the  salesperson  who  SMILES? 
I  don't  mean  the  clownish  clerks  who  joke  and  grin 
and  laugh  or  smirk.  They  are  a  different  sort  of 
cattle.  I  mean  the  SMILE  that  shows  friendliness 
and  welcome  to  the  customer — expressing  an  EAGER- 
NESS to  serve  her,  and  a  genuine  PLEASURE  for  the 
opportunity  to  show  her  the  merchandise  in  which 
she  is  interested. 

Some  people  call  it  a  GIFT  to  be  able  to  smile  in  this 

131 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

delightful  manner.  It  is  NOT  a  gift — it  is  disposition, 
and  its  opposite,  a  frown,  is  PURE  CUSSEDNESS.  The 
smile  is  simply  a  matter  of  cultivation.  It  must  be 
possessed  by,  or  TAUGHT  TO,  all  salespeople  who  are  ex- 
pected to  do  successful  work.  Teach  your  salespeople 
to  SMILE  when  approaching  and  serving  every  cus- 
tomer. The  crosser  the  customer  is,  the  more  persis- 
tent should  be  the  courtesy  and  the  smile  of  the  clerk. 

The  clerk  worth  while 

Is  the  one  who  can  smile 

When  everything  goes  dead  wrong — 

I  know  how  hard  it  is  to  smile  sometimes.  I  have 
stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  counter  from  hundreds 
of  grouches,  and  stood  their  fire,  and  I've  been  licked 
by  them — but  I  was  NEVER  BEATEN  when  I  could 
remember  to  SMILE.  The  Smile  is  the  BUFFER  that 
makes  the  sharp  remarks  of  the  grouchy  customer 
roll  off  like  water  off  a  duck's  back.  The  Smile  is 
the  only  thing  that  can  SAVE  THE  SALESPERSON'S 
FEELINGS.  It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets  of  the 
successful  salesman.  TEACH  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  TO 
SMILE.  Then  teach  them  ENTHUSIASM.  TELL  THEM 
EVERYTHING  YOU  KNOW  about  the  excellence  and 
attractiveness  of  the  Christmas  stocks.  Have  your 
pad  written  full  of  facts  about  interesting  goods  in 
your  stocks,  to  use  as  illustrations  of  what  your  peo- 
ple have  to  sell  to  their  customers.  Have  samples  of 
some  of  the  new  things  to  hold  up  right  there  in  the 

132 


THE  CHRISTMAS  SEASON 

meeting,  and  tell  how  they  should  be  sold.  Then 
tell  them  about  your  BONUS  PLAN  to  give  them  an 
opportunity  to  make  some  EXTRA  CHRISTMAS  MONEY 
by  doing  extra  fine  selling. 

Take  the  copy  that  follows,  and  have  enough 
cards  printed  to  hand  one  to  every  person  in  your 
employ — right  after  the  meetings  to  those  that 
attend.  They  will  help  back  up  what  you  have  said. 
Have  several  of  the  maxims  printed  in  big  type  on 
large  cards,  and  tacked  up  in  the  salespeople's  lockers 
and  washrooms.  When  your  people  take  these 
things  to  heart  they  will  sell  more  goods  and  make 
people  like  your  store  more  than  they  ever  did  before. 

BE  A  WINNER! 

Be  proud  of  your  profession,  and  develop  your 
ability  in  it. 

Don't  permit  anybody  to  do  his  or  her  work  better 
or  more  thoroughly  than  you  do  yours. 

Always  be  glad  to  feel  that  you  are  earning  more 
than  you  are  getting,  because  the  man  most  to  be 
pitied  in  the  world  is  the  one  who  realizes  that  he  is 
not  earning  what  he  is  being  paid. 

Always  wear  a  pleasant  SMILE — it  is  more  valuable 
to  the  successful  salesperson  than  the  most  attractive 
apparel. 

Never  show  annoyance  or  indifference  under  any 
circumstances,  for  it  destroys  your  professional  ability 
and  selling  power. 

133 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

No  community  is  big  enough  for  any  salesperson  to 
afford  to  have  any  one's  ill-will. 

Make  every  customer  feel  that  you  are  INTER- 
ESTED in  helping  her  to  find  EXACTLY  THE  THING 
SHE  DESIRES  and  you  increase  your  own  value  as  a 
salesman  while  doing  valuable  service  for  your  store. 

Establish  CONFIDENCE  in  your  earnestness  and 
intelligence  in  the  mind  of  all  your  customers,  and 
impress  them  with  the  pleasure  it  gives  you  to  serve 
them,  and  people  who  have  money  to  spend  will  wear 
a  path  to  your  counter. 

And  SUCCESS  is  yours. 


134 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
GETTING  MONEY  OUT  OF  CHRISTMAS  CROWDS 

Several  chapters  back  we  talked  over  this  matter  of 
getting  the  utmost  possible  out  of  the  Christmas 
crowds.  Now  you  are  right  in  the  midst  of  the  year's 
greatest  rush  and  hurry,  and  your  daily  problem  is 
NOT  how  can  I  coax  the  people  into  my  store,  but 

HOW    CAN    I    REAP    THE    FULLEST    POSSIBLE    HARVEST 

from  the  people  that  fill  my  store? 

Part  of  the  day — when  the  crowds  are  thickest — 
you  must  spend  right  on  the  firing-line.  The  rest 
of  the  day  you  must  put  in  searching  the  stock- 
rooms. GET  EVERYTHING  THAT  CHRISTMAS  SHOULD 

SELL  right  down  on  the  counters.  Don't  let  anything 
hide  away,  to  be  discovered  and  worried  about  at 
stock-taking  time.  Don't  depend  upon  anybody 
else  to  do  this.  John  Wanamaker,  Isaac  Gimbel — 
all  good  merchants  who  KNOW  human  nature — GO 

RIGHT    INTO    THE    STOCKROOMS    THEMSELVES.       They 

spend  days  and  nights  DIGGING  RIGHT  INTO  THE 
MERCHANDISE  with  their  own  hands. 

They  have  $10,000  buyers  and  energetic  mer- 
chandise men,  too,  but  they  consider  this  matter 
TOO  VITAL  to  trust  to  anybody's  eyes  but  their  own. 

135 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

They  must  KNOW  FOR  THEMSELVES  that  the  goods  are 
being  sold.  They  want  to  have  their  year's  profit  in 
MONEY — not  in  stale  goods  that  have  been  hidden 
away  and  not  discovered  until  they  have  TO  BE 
REDUCED  TO  HALF  PRICE  at  inventory  time. 

GET  OUT  YOUR  GOODS — stack  the  counters  up  high 
—give  the  goods  a  chance.  Get  them  out  from  under 
the  counters.  Those  FINE  THINGS  that  you  love  so 
much  that  you  have  locked  them  up  in  a  showcase, 
in  the  front  of  the  store — up  on  some  fixture — or  in 
the  windows — get  them  into  the  hands  of  your  sales- 
people, and  give  them  a  chance  to  sell  them. 

CHANGE  THE  SHOWCASES  OFTEN.  Don't  let  them 
be  burial  vaults  for  your  fine  merchandise.  WATCH 
THE  COUNTERS.  Wherever  you  find  goods  holding 
important  space — and  NOT  SELLING — move  them 
away  for  better-selling  goods,  or  CUT  THE  PRICES 
QUICK.  The  DEAD  COUNTER  is  not  only  wasting 
valuable  space,  but  it  is  A  CANCER  on  your  whole 
business.  It  makes  people  say:  "Why  the  store 
isn't  very  busy.  Maybe  we'll  find  better  things 
down  street.  They  say  they're  crowded  down  there." 
Make  a  QUICK  SURGICAL  OPERATION  on  that  DEAD 
counter.  It  is  as  much  a  menace  to  your  business 
health  and  LIFE  as  the  inflamed  appendix  is  to  your 
own  body.  GET  IT  OUT.  PLACE  A  CLEVERLY  WORDED 
CARD  on  every  table.  It  is  businesslike  to  simply 
mention  the  price,  but  it  is  far  more  clever  to  use  a 
few  words  that  will  catch  attention  and  stimulate 
desire.  For  instance,  here  is  a  table  of  Blouses,  and 

136 


CHRISTMAS  CROWDS 

the  dignified  store  will  simply  place  a  card  on  the 
table  marked  with  the  bare  price — $1.95.  The 
conventional  merchant  will  say:  "There  is  the  Blouse, 
and  here  is  the  price.  What  more  do  you  want?" 
Well,  in  MY  business  I  want  a  great  deal  more.  Per- 
haps— if  the  fact  is  true,  as  it  is  likely  to  be — I  want 
to  say : 

The  New  Callot  Blouse,  $1.95,  with  the  fashion- 
able elephant  sleeve.  I'll  get  the  attention  of  ten 
women  where  the  plain  price  catches  only  one. 
I  give  them  something  to  think  about,  and  something 
to  discuss  with  each  other.  Probably  they  never 
saw  "The  Elephant  Sleeve"  before.  Then  I've 
multiplied  their  interest  in  those  Blouses  by  ten,  at 
least. 

Dignity  is  all  right  in  its  place — I  have  a  great 
affection  for  it.  I  try  to  practise  it  always.  But 
Dignity  that  means  deadness  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  successful  store.  EVERY  COUNTER — EVERY  DIS- 
PLAY OF  MERCHANDISE — should  have  attractive  tickets 
giving  all  the  information  that  a  few  words  can  pre- 
sent about  the  goods.  And  every  ticket  should  have 

SELLING  PUNCH  to  it. 

I  can't  tell  you  WHAT  to  put  on  each  ticket,  but  I 
can  tell  you  HOW  to  go  about  it.  First:  what  is 
NEW  about  the  goods?  Give  that  fact  a  word  or 
two.  Is  there  any  other  use  than  the  obvious  one? 
State  it.  Is  there  some  BIG  idea  back  of  the  article? 
W7as  it  originated  by  some  BIG  DESIGNER?  If  it  is 
staple  goods  that  everybody  knows  about — tell  why 

137 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

it  is  GOOD  or  BETTER.  Suggest  its  use  in  some  unique 
way.  Or  put  some  crisp  wording  to  brighten  even  its 
everyday  use.  As:  Are  you  ready  for  NEW  Dish 
Towels?  8  cents  a  yard. 

Now  do  this  with  ALL  your  Christmas  goods.  I 
have  used  commonplace  goods  to  show  you  how  to  do 
the  hardest  things.  There  is  snap  and  inspiration 
in  the  Christmas  goods  that  makes  card  writing 
EASY.  Cover  your  whole  store  with  snappy  holiday 
suggestions,  and  you'll  find  the  things  sell  twice  as 
fast. 

Develop  the  READY-WRAPPED  parcel  idea.  Noth- 
ing else  helps  so  much,  to  serve  people  quickly,  as 
being  able  to  hand  the  article  right  to  the  customer, 
without  waiting  to  wrap  it  up.  You  probably  sell 
candy  that  way.  Why  not  Books — the  ones  that 
are  in  constant  demand?  Have  a  stack  on  the 
counter — all  wrapped  up,  to  hand  to  the  customer, 
excepting  enough  on  top  for  customers  to  look  at. 
The  moment  the  sale  is  made  the  amount  is  rung  up 
on  the  cash  register  and  the  bundle  is  handed  to 
the  customer,  and  the  clerk  is  ready  for  the  next 
customer,  and  doesn't  have  to  watch  out  for  the 
package  from  the  bundler  or  wrap  it  herself. 

Exactly  the  same  thing  may  be  done  with  hundreds 
of  items  all  over  the  store.  Find  the  things  that  you 
are  selling  in  big  quantities.  Have  enough  for  several 
days  selling  wrapped  up  at  night  to  save  the  busy 
daylight  hours  for  work  that  MUST  be  done  at  the 
time.  A  lot  of  people  will  gladly  carry  their  little 

138 


CHRISTMAS  CROWDS 

parcels  home  if  they  don't  have  to  wait  to  have  them 
wrapped.  Everywhere  that  you  have  a  counter 
filled  with  one  particular  article  have  an  abundant 
quantity  of  them  READY  WRAPPED  to  save  time. 
Six  sales  can  often  be  made  in  the  time  it  would 
otherwise  take  for  one.  And  QUICK  SELLING  is  the 
secret  of  getting  money  out  of  crowds.  Hundreds 
slip  by  if  the  article  is  not  ready  to  hand  directly 
to  the  purchaser. 

Eliminate   the   tedious   check   writing   for   these 
quick-selling  articles.     Use  a  cash  register  if  you  have 

it.       If    not,     PICK    OUT    YOUR    HONEST    PEOPLE — yOU 

have  plenty,  of  course — AND  TRUST  THEM.  You'll 
lose  less  by  dishonesty  by  trusted  salespeople  than 
you'll  lose  by  slow  selling.  The  big  stores  have  proved 
this  fact.  And  more  and  more  they  are  simplifying 
the  check-writing  process,  or  supplying  check  writers 
to  help  the  salespeople  and  give  them  their  whole 
time  for  selling — so  that  slightly  interested  customers 
do  not  slip  away. 

EFFICIENCY  requires  the  cutting  of  red  tape- 
shortening  processes.  Nothing  is  more  maddening 
for  a  customer  in  a  hurry  than  to  wait  while  a 
salesperson  is  tediously  writing  out  a  voluminous  sales 
slip.  And  EVERYBODY  is  in  a  hurry  just  before 
Christmas.  MAKE  ALL  THE  SHORT  CUTS  YOU  CAN 
to  turn  over  the  goods  to  the  customer  QUICKLY, 
and  take  the  money  without  fuss  and  red  tape. 

CALL  A  FIVE-MINUTE  MEETING  OF  YOUR  PEOPLE — 
preferably   in    the    morning — just    after    the    store 

139 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

opens.  Give  them  an  inspiring  talk  on  the  necessity 
of  quick  work  for  the  next  two  weeks.  Ask  them  to 
tell  you  how  you  can  help  them  to  make  short  cuts. 
They  know  what  takes  the  time — what  is  tedious 
about  selling  and  getting  goods  into  the  hands 
of  the  customers.  GET  THEIR  ADVICE.  Of  course, 
you  can't  follow  it  all,  but  you'll  find  a  lot  of  it  quite 
valuable.  Encourage  them.  Enthuse  them,  and 
they'll  go  at  the  day's  business  just  like  a  football 
team  goes  into  the  game. 

It  is  awfully  hard  for  salespeople  who  have  been 
working  hard  day  after  day,  and  perhaps  night  after 
night,  to  go  to  work  with  snap  and  enthusiasm  every 
day.  But  you  can  help  them  mightily — you  can 
fill  them  full  of  your  own  enthusiasm — by  a  personal 
word  or  talk.  Do  IT. 


140 


CHAPTER  XXV 
MAKING  FRIENDS  WITH  NEWLY-WEDS 

One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  building  up  a 
retail  business  is  the  securing  of  new  customers  among 
newly  married  couples.  In  every  case  there  is  a 
new  home  to  furnish,  and  the  store  where  the  goods 
are  purchased  for  the  first  home  is  usually  the  place 
that  retains  the  patronage  of  these  people  as  long  as 
the  store  deserves  it.  For  this  reason  the  shrewd 
merchant  will  plan  a  continuous  campaign  to  win 
newly  married  people  as  his  customers. 

The  important  thing  is  to  have  a  thoroughly  good 
method,  and  then  to  have  a  system  organized  by 
which  each  marriage  notice  will  be  followed  up  with 
a  watchful  eye  every  day  of  the  year  as  long  as  the 
store  is  in  business.  Of  course,  a  lot  of  valuable  work 
can  be  done  previous  to  the  wedding  day,  after  en- 
gagements are  announced,  but  the  most  effective 
and  lasting  work  can  be  done  immediately  following 
the  marriage  ceremony. 

In  cities  where  newspapers  publish  all  the  marriage 
notices  it  is  very  easy  to  secure  the  names  of  the  newly 
married  people  every  morning.  In  smaller  cities 
and  towns,  where  the  names  may  be  published  only 

141 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

once  or  twice  a  week,  it  is  easy  to  find  some  other 
means  of  securing  the  names;  sometimes  it  may  be 
by  making  arrangements  with  each  of  the  clergymen 
and  aldermen  in  the  town  or  city.  Of  course,  this 
plan  would  cause  you  to  miss  the  names  of  any  couples 
who  were  married  outside  of  that  city  and  come  back 
there  to  reside;  but  the  newspaper  columns,  either 
in  the  regular  marriage  notices  or  in  the  local  news, 
will  keep  you  well  informed  and  provide  a  very  com- 
plete list. 

It  should  be  made  the  duty  of  one  individual  to 
watch  for  this  list,  and  one  person  can  very  easily 
take  care  of  this  matter  in  connection  with  his  or 
her  other  duties.  Immediately,  when  the  name  is 
secured,  a  letter  of  congratulation  should  be  sent 
and  the  hospitalities  and  services  of  the  store  should 
be  tendered  to  the  newly  married  couple. 

At  the  end  of  this  chapter  is  my  suggestion  of 
exactly  how  this  letter  should  be  worded,  and  it 
might  be  used  as  a  form  letter  for  a  long  time,  but 
should  be  changed  before  the  children  of  the  married 
people  grow  up ! 

A  card  list  of  the  names  of  married  people  with  the 
dates  of  their  weddings  should  be  very  faithfully 
kept,  and  other  letters  should  be  mailed  to  this  list 
from  time  to  time,  suggesting  the  new  things  that  may 
be  required  in  the  home  at  that  particular  season. 
Of  course,  in  addition,  any  printed  matter  of  any  sort 
that  you  get  out  should  be  mailed  to  this  list. 

It  also  would  become  a  very  valuable  list  from  which 

142 


MAKING  FRIENDS  WITH    NEWLY-WEDS 

to  mail  letters  to  the  man  of  the  family  a  month  before 
the  wedding  anniversary,  suggesting  to  him  the  fact 
that  his  wedding  anniversary  is  approaching  and  he 
is  perhaps  thinking  of  some  appropriate  gift  for  his 
wife.  Then  you  can  make  suggestions,  also  appro- 
priate to  the  season  of  the  year,  of  articles  for  the 
home  as  well  as  things  for  her  individual  use.  Such 
letters  will  show  that  you  are  interested  in  the  home 
and  are  watching  anniversaries,  and  there  is  a  subtle 
compliment  about  this  very  thoughtfulness.  Of 
course,  the  death  notices  must  also  be  carefully  watched 
and  notations  made  on  your  list  so  that  it  is  always 
properly  kept  up,  and  no  inappropriate  letters  are 
mailed  after  a  death. 

In  addition  to  the  list  of  Newly- Weds  there  should 
be  a  list  of  Birthdays — whenever  a  birth  notice 
appears  the  name  and  date  should  be  put  on  a  card 
index,  the  names  of  the  mother  and  father,  and  the 
name  of  the  child,  so  that  letters  may  be  written 
preceding  the  birthday  anniversary,  of  course  using 
such  a  mailing  list  to  interest  the  parents  in  children's 
apparel  from  the  first  moment  of  birth  on  through 
the  years  as  long  as  the  list  is  maintained.  Always 
suggest  apparel  or  other  articles  suited  to  the  age 
of  the  child. 

No  more  valuable  advertising  work  can  be  done 
than  what  goes  out  to  cover  a  carefully  kept  list, 
because  it  enables  you  to  write  more  direct  letters, 
keeping  you  in  close  personal  touch  with  valuable 
customers  all  over  your  town  or  city.  I  have  never 

143 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

found  a  woman  who  did  not  appreciate  the  compli- 
ment of  having  a  store  notice  the  birthdays  and 
anniversaries  of  the  family.  Everybody  appreciates 
the  fact  that  his  or  her  patronage  is  considered  of 
sufficient  value  to  be  solicited  in  this  personal  and 
thoughtful  way.  It  also  indicates  a  wide-awake 
policy  in  the  store  that  does  things  in  this  manner, 
and  this  sort  of  efficiency  in  soliciting  patronage 
indicates  carefulness  and  thoughtfulness  in  serving 
customers  in  a  manner  to  keep  their  trade.  It  is  a 
valuable  part  of  a  thoroughly  good  retail  store's 
policy,  but  some  stores  attempting  this  policy  carry 
it  out  so  badly,  and  with  such  a  lack  of  tact  in  the 
way  letters  are  written,  that  it  sometimes  does  more 
harm  than  good. 

Letters  should  always  be  dictated  by  a  person  who 
can  write  an  interesting  and  tactful  letter.  A  book- 
keeper can  very  rarely  do  this.  Some  stenographers 
can  do  it  well,  and  others  cannot.  The  merchant, 
or  the  general  manager,  should  take  pains  to  discover 
a  bright  man  or  woman  somewhere  in  the  store  who 
could  undertake  to  do  this  work  in  a  manner  that 
would  win  a  multitude  of  friends.  Every  store  has 
at  least  several  such  people  in  its  organization  if  they 
are  hunted  out. 

Of  all  the  advertising  that  goes  out  of  the  store 
nothing  is  of  quite  as  much  importance  as  the  per- 
sonal letter  on  the  store's  stationery,  signed  with  the 
individual  name  of  a  member  of  the  firm,  the  general 
manager,  or  of  some  popular  salesman  or  saleswoman. 

144 


MAKING  FRIENDS  WITH  NEWLY-WEDS 

Even  in  the  rush  of  New  York  City  business  there  are 
few  customers  of  the  big  stores  who  do  not  try  to  be 
waited  on  by  a  salesperson  who  knows  them  by  name, 
and  whose  name  the  customer  also  knows. 

I  consider  it  most  valuable  for  a  store  to  cater  to 
this  building  up  of  customers'  acquaintance  by  their 
salespeople  because  there  is  no  more  powerful  factor 
in  making  a  woman  decide  to  which  store  she  will 
go  than  the  fact  that  she  knows  a  competent,  tactful 
salesperson  in  that  particular  department  of  your 
store.  If  such  a  salesperson  personally  writes  a 
letter  about  new  merchandise  that  has  been  received, 
or  about  special  bargains  that  are  to  be  offered,  the 
customer  is  most  powerfully  drawn  to  the  store. 

COPY  FOR  LETTER  TO  "NEWLY-WEDS" 

MR.  &  MRS.  SAMUEL  HARRIS, 

Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa. 
DEAR  FRIENDS: 

As  one  of  the  well-known  institutions  of  our  City,  we  are 
taking  the  liberty  of  congratulating  you  on  your  new  happiness. 

Every  citizen  of  our  municipality  has  a  feeling  of  gratification 
when  he  reads  of  a  new  wedding.  The  prosperity  and  growth 
of  our  City  are  made  up  of  those  happy  occasions.  It  means 
one  more  family  to  be  interested  in  our  City  and  its  institutions 
—one  more  unit  to  help  in  our  development  and  to  the  improve- 
ment of  our  material  welfare. 

We  congratulate  you  and  we  congratulate  our  City  upon  the 
new  home  that  is  to  be  created. 

We  trust  that  you  will  do  us  the  honor  of  visiting  our  store 

145 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

when  we  can  be  of  service  to  you.  There  are  many  things  re- 
quired by  the  new  home  and  there  are  many  services  that  should 
be  rendered  to  the  new  home-builders  which  a  concern  like  ours 
is  well  fitted  to  supply. 

We  trust  that  you  will  permit  us  to  become  better  acquainted 
and  that  you  yourselves  will  accept  our  invitation  to  make  this 
your  store  home  and  give  us  the  privilege  of  serving  you  in  refer- 
ence to  your  various  needs. 

It  shall  always  be  good  and  faithful  service,  and  it  must  always 
be  satisfactory.  If  in  any  of  your  dealings  with  this  store  you 
are  dissatisfied  with  the  service  or  the  merchandise,  we  will 
deem  it  a  great  personal  favor  to  have  you  either  tell  us,  or  write 
as  the  exact  circumstances,  and  we  assure  you  that  the  entire 
transaction  will  be  made  to  meet  your  complete  satisfaction  in 
the  promptest  manner  possible. 

It  is  only  because  we  are  prepared  to  give  you  a  complete  and 
thoroughly  satisfactory  service  that  we  venture  to  request  your 
patronage. 

With  all  best  wishes  for  your  future  happiness  and  prosperity. 

Faithfully  yours, 

(Individual  signature) 
(Firm  name  typewritten  here). 


146 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  MONTH-END  SALE 

The  "Red  Letter  Days,"  which  I  inaugurated  at 
Wanamaker's,  and  the  "Month-End  Sale,"  which 
carried  out  the  same  idea,  at  Gimbel's,  are  features 
of  great  value  which  I  believe  should  be  installed  as 
the  policy  of  every  aggressive  store. 

There  are  two  chief  reasons : 

1.  The  last  two  days  of  the  month  are  always  likely 
to  be  poor  business  days  in  any  store,  and  especially 
so  in  a  store  that  has  charge  accounts,  and  the  good 
Storekeeper  will  want  to  inaugurate  some  policy  that 
will  build  up  a  good  business  on  those  otherwise  dull 
days. 

2.  The  well-merchandised  store  should  have  its 
slow-selling  goods  cleaned  out  promptly  at  the  end 
of  every  month.     This  prevents  dangerous  and  un- 
desirable accumulations  of  poor-selling  stock,   and 
it  also  provides  material  for  BARGAINS  which  tempt 
and  tickle  the  bargain  seekers  while  giving  you  back 
practically  all  the  money  invested  in  the  bad  stock 
at  the  same  time. 

The  "Red  Letter  Days"  at  Wanamaker's  brought 
splendid  sales,  and  the  results  were  particularly 

147 


MANUAL  OF    SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

gratifying  because  even  in  the  Panic  of  1907  they 
brought  in  a  tremendous  amount  «f  GASH,  which  was 
needed  at  that  time  when  charge  customers  were 
asking  for  extended  time. 

The  "  Month-End  Sales"  at  Gimbel's  not  only 
assured  the  store  of  good  business  for  the  last  two 
days  of  every  month,  but  they  provided  a  time  and 
a  good  excuse  for  cutting  prices  on  goods  that  were 
not  selling  well,  and  they  gave  splendid  opportunity 
to  get  rid  of  odd  lots  and  remnants. 

They  kept  the  stocks  cleaned  up  better,  made  a 
mighty  good  reinforcement  to  the  month's  volume 
of  sales  just  when  wanted,  and  brought  in  cash  for 
disbursement  on  the  first  of  the  next  month. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  single  feature  of  merchandis- 
ing that  contributes  so  much  to  good  healthy  store- 
keeping  as  this  Month-End  Sale  feature.  Of  course, 
it  must  be  done  intelligently  and  HONESTLY.  One 
half-hearted  effort — one  attempt  to  fool  the  people 
into  believing  that  mere  words  are  all  you  have  to 
offer — will  kill  the  success  of  the  movement  alto- 
gether. It  MUST  be  a  REAL  event,  honestly  mer- 
chandised and  offering  genuine  bargains.  It  must 
:also  be  broad  enough  in  its  scope  and  variety  of 
goods  to  interest  and  attract  a  very  large  and  diverse 
constituency. 

.A  great  many  stores  fail  of  full  success  because 
they  draw  back  at  the  very  point  where  they  might 
establish  a  valuable  reputation  for  this  store  feature. 
Strawbridge  &  Clothier,  Philadelphia,  have  made  the 

148 


THE  MONTH-END  SALE 

"Clover  Sale"  famous.  Whenever  it  is  announced 
the  store  is  sure  to  be  packed  with  enthusiastic 
people. 

Of  course,  they  plan  for  this  monthly  event  in  a 
very  large  way.  They  buy  special  merchandise  on 
which  they  make  full  percentage  of  profit,  and  this 
is  what  your  "Month-End  Sale"  may  develop  into. 

But,  no  matter  how  popular  it  grows,  or  what  you 
may  purchase  to  place  on  sale  at  that  time,  you 
should  never  abandon  the  opportunity  it  provides 
to  get  rid  of  all  your  slow  stock  and  your  odds  and 
ends.  For  this  riddance  is  most  vital  to  prevent 
your  capital  being  tied  up  in  dead  stock  when  it 
should  be  kept  active,  even  if  a  sacrifice  has  to  be 
made  once  in  a  while. 

Far  better  to  get  even  HALF  of  your  money  oat  of 
bad  stock,  and  get  the  money  at  work,  than  to  keep 
it  tied  up  for  a  year  or  more,  with  the  loss  growing 
greater  all  the  time,  and  the  bad  goods  doing  you 
actual  damage  every  time  they  are  shown. 

Undesirable  goods  at  full  prices  do  you  DAMAGE 
all  the  time.  But  these  same  goods,  WHEN  REDUCED, 
will  make  friends  and  prestige  for  you.  And  the 
money  goes  to  work  again.  Isn't  it  a  wonder  that 
so  many  merchants  can't  see  this?  Can  you  under- 
stand why  they  fail  to  do  the  heroic  thing  when  they 
have  everything  to  gain  by  doing  it,  and  EVERYTHING 
TO  LOSE  by  NOT  doing  it?  And  yet  how  FEW  are 
doing  it?  And  the  vital  question  is:  "What  are 
YOU  doing  about  it?" 

149 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

It  is  a  fine  plan  to  begin  the  Month-End  policy 
with  a  big  YEAR-END  Sale,  starting  right  after  Christ- 
mas for  a  whole  week.  This  is  the  time  that  business 
drops  off  with  such  a  crash  that  something  mighty 
drastic  has  to  be  done  to  stimulate  the  jaded  shopper 
who  has  been  rushed  to  death  every  minute  during 
the  strenuous  month  of  December.  The  real  bar- 
gain impulse  is  the  only  thing  that  will  work,  and 
even  the  bargain  must  have  a  NEW  NAME.  This 
novelty  is  supplied  by  the  "  Year-End  Sale,"  which 
must  be  exploited  as  though  you  had  never  offered  a 
bargain  before  in  your  store  history.  After  all, 
THAT  is  one  of  the  greatest  secrets  of  successful  Ad- 
vertising. Each  new  offering  must  be  presented  as 
the  Sunrise  of  a  New  World.  The  clever  advertiser 
never  remembers  what  he  has  done  before,  and  he 
makes  the  public  forget  the  past  and  become  en- 
thused and  often  really  excited  over  the  new  feature 
that  perhaps  is  merely  presenting  GOOD  merchandise  in 
a  different  manner,  and  with  the  use  of  different  words. 
By  this  I  am  suggesting  nothing  that  is  deceptive. 
It  is  simply  catering  to  human  nature's  demand  for 
originality  of  ideas — getting  away  from  "sameness." 

Merchandise  being  equal,  the  store  with  "ideas" 
will  win  out  always  over  its  more  conservative  rival 
People  know  far  less  about  real  values  than  they  are 
credited  with  knowing.  You  must  keep  on  showing 
your  goods  and  presenting  your  case  in  the  strongest 
possible  manner,  or  the  people  will  either  not  know 
what  you  have  or  they  will  forget. 

150 


THE  MONTH-END  SALE 

So  I  advise,  instead  of  quietly  tabulating  ordinary 
bargains,  that  you  make  a  much  larger  fuss  over 
them,  so  as  to  make  a  big  public  impression,  and 
bring  them  all  together  in  a  great  "Month-End 
Sale,"  and  call  it  a  Red  Letter  Sale,  a  Clover  Sale, 
an  Arrow  Sale,  a  Climax  Sale,  or  what  you  will — 
preferably  an  original  name  of  your  own. 

Build  up  a  reputation  for  this  monthly  event — 
merchandise  it  earnestly  and  honestly,  and  you  will 
have  a  wonderful  asset  in  it  as  the  months  and  years 
roll  by.  And  you  will  also  find  your  stocks  getting 
cleaner  and  that  your  capital  is  not  tied  up  in  the 
aggravating  way  that  it  has  often  been  in  the  past, 
and  is  so  often  tied  up  in  so  many  otherwise  good 
stores.  Get  your  slow  stocks  busy  doing  stirring 
work  FOR  you  instead  of  against  you.  Have  a 
Month-End  Sale  every  month  during  the  New  Year. 


151 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
CLEANING  OUT  THE  OLD  STOCK 

After  Christmas  is  over  bring  out  all  the  remnants, 
odd  lots,  and  slow  sellers — all  the  old  stock  that  has 
been  laying  on  the  shelves,  or  under  the  counters,  or 
up  in  the  stockrooms — AND  TURN  IT  INTO  MONEY. 
It  doesn't  make  much  difference  how  little  money  you 
get  out  of  it — GET  IT  OUT.  Bad  goods  will  NEVER  be 
worth  any  more.  So,  while  you  MUST  actually  lose 
part  of  its  cost,  let  it  earn  something  valuable  for 
you. 

There  are  two  things  that  the  public  loves — and 
they  should  both  mean  the  same  thing:  REMNANTS 
and  REAL  BARGAINS.  The  clever  merchant  knows 
when  IT  PAYS  TO  LOSE  MONEY.  The  wise  merchant 
knows  that  the  surest  way  to  lose  money  is  to  hold 
on  to  goods  that  won't  sell  at  a  profitable  price. 

It  is  TURNOVER  of  goods  and  money  that  makes 
PROFIT.  If  you  have  a  million-dollar  stock,  and  sell 
a  million  dollars'  worth  of  goods  a  year,  you're  LOSING 
MONEY.  If  you  are  selling  ten  millions  a  year,  from  the 
same  stock,  you  are  a  wonder.  But  if  you  are  not 
selling  three  to  five  millions  a  year  from  your  million- 
dollar  stock,  you  are  not  getting  proper  returns. 

152 


CLEANING  OUT  THE  OLD  STOCK 

The  thing  that  ties  up  capital,  and  which  kills 
profits,  is  DEAD  STOCK.  Dead  rats  in  your  cellar 
are  no  more  dangerous  to  health  than  dead  stock  is 
to  a  business.  The  merchant  who  hoards  up  old 
stock,  counting  it  worth  what  it  cost  him,  is  just 
like  a  crazy  gambler  who  counts  the  blue  and  white 
chips  as  real  money.  Get  what  money  you  can  out 
of  old  stock — as  quickly  as  you  can,  and  get  it  into 
new,  fresh,  desirable  goods — and  you  will  turn  that 
money  over  with  a  good  profit  a  dozen  times  while 
you  would  be  waiting  for  the  old  goods  to  sell. 

Then  don't  forget  that  when  you  sell  old  goods  at 
full  price  you  either  disappoint  a  customer  or  you 
don't  make  that  customer  as  happy  as  when  you  sell 
her  new  goods.  Hence  you  fail  to  build  friendship 
for  your  store.  On  the  other  hand,  old  goods,  sold 
at  a  genuine  bargain  price,  MAKE  VALUABLE  FRIENDS 
FOR  YOUR  STORE.  They  make  people  talk  about 
what  splendid  bargains  they  got  from  you.  They 
may  cost  you  a  small  immediate  loss,  but  they  are 
building  up  your  business  and  doing  the  most  valu- 
able advertising  for  you. 

PUT  YOUR  OLD   GOODS  TO  WORK  FOR  YOU.       Don't 

let  them  lay  rotting  in  stock  to  knife  your  good  repu- 
tation and  to  tie  up  your  capital.  GET  OUT  YOUR 
REMNANTS — pull  from  the  shelves  every  piece  of  goods 
that  has  been  laying  there  idle  for  six  months. 
Take  all  the  odd  lots  and  broken  sizes,  and  mark 
them  at  prices  that  will  bring  big  crowds  for  a  good 
old-fashioned  Bargain  Sale. 

153 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Get  up  a  good  strong  newspaper  advertisement, 
telling  what  you  are  going  to  offer.  Then  fill  your 
store  aisles  with  special  counters  for  the  Remnants 
and  Odd  Lots.  Make  things  LOOK  like  a  Special 
Occasion.  Put  a  clean,  new  ticket  on  every  remnant. 
Mark  its  regular  price  on  the  ticket  so  that  people 
will  know  exactly  what  kind  of  a  bargain  they  are 
getting — but  BE  ABSOLUTELY  HONEST  in  doing  it. 
Don't  think  that  people  don't  know,  and  that  the 
remnant  will  sell  more  quickly  if  you  boost  its  value 
a  little.  THAT  is  the  way  to  stick  a  knife  into  the 
heart  of  your  business.  SOMEBODY  always  knows 
just  what  the  former  price  was — even  if  it  is  only  a 
clerk,  who  whispers  it  to  a  friend,  or  who  goes  to 
some  other  store,  or  some  day  picks  up  a  grouch 
against  the  store  and  tells  the  fatal  story. 

"HONESTY  is  THE  BEST  POLICY,"  to-day,  as  always. 
Let  each  ticket  tell  plainly  the  quantity  and  the 
special  price.  Then  have  neat  cards  on  every  coun- 
ter showing  where  the  BIG  BARGAINS  are. 

Get  all  your  salespeople  enthused.  Call  them 
together  and  explain  the  big  thing  that  has  been  done. 
Don't  let  them  think  that  the  whole  occasion  rests 
upon  the  few  remnants  in  their  own  department— 
which  may  seem  a  small  matter  to  them,  but  fill 
them  with  the  spirit  of  the  GREAT  OCCASION.  They 
will  size  up  the  event  just  as  YOU  size  it  up — if 
they  hear  from  you  with  the  proper  emphasis  and 
spirit. 

Too  many  big  store  events  fall  down  because  the 

154 


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CLEANING  OUT  THE  OLD  STOCK 

selling  force  is  not  properly  worked  up  to  the  highest 
possible  point  of  enthusiasm,  or  is  not  properly 
INFORMED  about  the  value  of  the  goods  to  be  sold. 
Remember  this:  your  employees  stand  for  YOU,  in 
front  of  the  customers.  The  public  estimate  of  YOU 
and  your  STORE  will  be  measured  by  their  estimate  of 

THE  SALESPEOPLE  WHO  WAIT  UPON  THEM.       They  WOn't 

measure  you  by  your  BEST  salespeople,  for  your  good 
salespeople  are  likely  to  be  greatly  in  the  minority. 
Many  an  otherwise  good  store  gets  a  bad  reputation 
because  it  keeps  a  large  number  of  ignorant  and  cheap 
salespeople — AND  THEN  DOES  NOT  PROPERLY  EDUCATE 
THEM. 

There  will  be  little  use  in  blowing  your  horn  loudly 
in  the  newspapers  if  the  people  come  into  your 
store  and  find  no  enthusiasm  among  the  clerks  to 
match  the  advertising.  And  HERE  is  where  most 
stores  LOSE  HALF  OF  THE  VALUE  of  their  big  sale 
efforts.  Of  course,  there  are  too  many  stores  that 
KILL  their  so-called  "Sales"  by  putting  out  fake 
merchandise,  and  putting  values  on  it  that  never 
existed.  The  salespeople  know  all  about  the  trick- 
ery, of  course,  so  ENTHUSIASM  is  IMPOSSIBLE. 

If  the  newspaper  advertising  is  not  REINFORCED 
by  the  ENTHUSIASM  of  the  SALESPEOPLE,  a  full  HALF 
of  your  advertising  cost  and  merchandising  effort  is 
LOST.  Have  HONEST  BARGAINS.  Mark  them  at 
HONEST  VALUES.  PROVE  the  importance  and  ECON- 
OMY of  the  Occasion  to  your  PEOPLE.  Don't  expect 
them  to  be  MIND  READERS  or  to  have  second  sight. 

155 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Don't  belittle  their  importance  to  you.  EMPHASIZE 
IT. 

Tell  them  plainly  and  flatly  that  you  are  DEPEND- 
ING upon  them,  that  you  know  the  sale  can  be  a  suc- 
cess only  if  THEY  make  it  a  success.  For  goodness* 
sake,  don't  be  afraid  they  will  ask  you  for  a  "raise" 
after  it  has  been  a  success.  You'll  be  mighty  glad 
to  pay  more  money  to  people  who  are  ALIVE — even 
if  you  prod  them  into  life  yourself. 

A  store  full  of  LIVE  salespeople  can  afford  to  pay 
double  the  salaries  that  can  be  paid  by  a  store  full  of 
"dead  ones."  Get  the  reputation,  if  you  can,  of 
paying  the  highest  salaries.  Have  your  store  become 
the  desire  of  all  the  good,  strong,  ambitious  sales- 
people to  come  to  and  TO  STAY  IN  PERMANENTLY, 
and  you'll  soon  have  the  reputation  of  having  the 
most  wide-awake  store  and  giving  the  best  service, 
and  THEN  you'll  find  how  easy  it  is  to  make  bigger 
profits. 

Now,  let's  have  this  Big  Clean-Up  Remnant  Sale. 
Make  it  the  most  rousing  event  your  store  ever  knew. 
Make  the  people  talk  about  it  for  months.  If  you 
have  used  big  words  for  small  reductions  in  the  past, 

START    OFF    NEW    AGAIN.        Start    right    NOW.        You'll 

have  to  have  a  little  patience,  and  pay  the  fiddler  for 
the  bad  music  you've  made.  But  stick  to  it.  Better 
fight  your  way  back  for  a  couple  of  years  than  to  keep 
on  getting  deeper  into  the  ruck  of  public  distrust. 

People  will  learn.  They  will  change  their  minds 
if  YOU  change  your  policy.  One  by  one  they  will 

156 


CLEANING  OUT  THE  OLD  STOCK 

discover  that  your  bargains  are  now  REAL.     They'll 
tell  one  another.     And  people  are  QUICK  to  go  after 

GENUINE  BARGAINS. 

January  is  your  time  to  do  the  BIGGEST  and  MOST 
EFFECTIVE  Advertising  of  your  store  that  you  have 
ever  done.  Get  out  ALL  your  Old  Goods,  of  every 
kind  whatsoever.  Have  PLENTY  of  everything  to 
offer.  Do  NOT  try  to  pull  the  sale  over  with  a  few 
little  things  that  will  soon  be  sold  out.  Don't  EVER 
DISAPPOINT  people.  You  can't  afford  to  lose  them: 
and  you  can't  afford  to  have  them  talk  badly  about 
you  or  your  store.  And  they  WON'T  COME  BACK. 

Don't  shut  your  eyes  to  it,  or  stick  your  head  into 
a  hole  in  the  ground,  like  the  ostrich.  Get  out  your 
OLD  STOCK.  Give  a  SQUARE  DEAL  with  your  bargains. 
Have  PLENTY  of  them.  Fill  up  your  SPECIAL  COUN- 
TERS. Have  lots  more  at  the  regular  counters.  EN- 
THUSE your  SALESPEOPLE — and  get  their  hearty 
cooperation. 

Put  a  strong  advertisement  into  the  newspapers, 
telling  the  EXACT  TRUTH  about  the  whole  offering. 
And  you'll  have  the  biggest  results  that  you  ever 
knew — and  you'll  have  people  thinking  and  talking 
about  you  in  a  way  that  will  benefit  your  whole  busi- 
ness tremendously  for  months  afterward. 


157 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
CONDUCTING  A  PRIZE  FANGYWORK  CONTEST 

It  is  a  serious  problem  to  keep  women  interested  in 
your  store  in  the  blustry,  rainy,  or  otherwise  dis- 
agreeable month  of  February.  It  is  not  a  month  of 
heavy  buying,  normally,  and  great  bargain  effort  is 
made  by  the  larger  city  stores. 

It  is  very  much  more  important  to  get  ALL  THE 
REGULAR  BUSINESS  YOU  CAN  in  January  and  Febru- 
ary, so  that  a  fair  percentage  of  your  business  may 
be  done  at  a  normal  profit.  One  cannot  pay  rent, 
heat,  light,  employees,  and  other  fixed  and  variable 
expenses  out  of  the  losses  on  bargain  clean-ups,  and 

NO  STONE  SHOULD  BE  LEFT  UNTURNED   to   SCCUre  the 

trade  of  all  the  people  possible  who  have  other  than 
bargain  goods  to  buy  in  these  two  months. 

One  of  the  very  strongest  appeals  to  the  interest  of 
women — even  in  New  York  City,  where  they  are 
supposed  to  live  at  Tango  Teas,  and  go  nightly  to 
the  theatres  and  to  dinner  parties — is  through  their 
almost  universal  interest  in  FANCY  NEEDLEWORK. 

Almost  every  woman  has  some  Fancywork  under 
way  all  the  time,  and  all  other  women  enjoy  seeing 
it,  even  if  they  never  work  at  it.  Of  course,  January 

158 


A  PRIZE  FANCYWORK  CONTEST 

and  February  are  the  best  months  to  do  fancywork, 
because  life  out  of  doors  is  usually  unpleasant.  Thus 
it  is  the  time  to  get  the  INTERESTED  ATTENTION  OF 
MOST  WOMEN  to  a  well-planned 

CONTEST  IN  FANCY  NEEDLEWORK 

Offering  Many  Valuable  Prizes  to  Winners 

Of  course,  it  will  be  a  condition  of  the  contest  that 
all  contestants  shall  enter  their  names  at  your  store 
when  starting  to  compete.  Then  all  materials  for 
the  fancywork  to  be  entered  in  the  Contest  must  be 
purchased  at  your  store. 

All  work  entered  is  to  be  sent  to  your  store  FOR 
UNRESTRICTED  EXHIBITION,  with  release  from  re- 
sponsibility for  its  loss.  Thus  the  Needlework  will 
provide  material  for  an  Exhibition  that  will  interest 
and  bring  to  your  store  ALL  LOVERS  OF  FANCY  NEEDLE- 
WORK in  your  entire  city,  whether  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  coming  to  your  store  or  not.  And,  best 
point  of  all,  EVERY  WOMAN  WHOSE  WORK  is  ON  EX- 
HIBITION will  send  all  her  friends  to  see  her  work, 
and  she  will  bring  scores  of  them  herself.  And  it  is 
wonderful  what  an  amount  of  talking  about  such  an 
Exhibition  there  will  be  all  over  the  city,  wherever 
women  get  together. 

Every  woman  will  want  to  see  how  other  women 
do  certain  things.  Some  will  admire  other  work; 
some  will  take  the  greatest  delight  of  their  lives  in 

159 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

criticising  it  and  telling  their  neighbors  how  careless 
Mrs.  Jones  is  with  her  stitches,  and  what  awful  color 
combinations  she  makes.  And  the  more  they  admire 
and  criticise  and  quarrel,  the  more  valuable  advertis- 
ing they  do  for  your  store. 

An  Exhibition  of  this  sort  is  very  easily  arranged, 
at  practically  no  cost  to  the  store,  while  providing 
many  sales  of  Fancy  Needlework  Materials,  and 
bringing  people  to  the  store  who  will  buy  many  other 
things  at  regular  prices. 

The  point  about  a  feature  of  interest  like  this  is 
that  it  very  often  determines  in  a  woman's  mind 
where  she  will  go  to  buy  the  things  she  wants.  Per- 
haps she  could  get  them  at  any  store;  but  she  will 
decide  to  GO  TO  YOUR  STORE,  so  that  she  can  see  the 
Fancywork  Exhibition  again,  and  have  another  look 
at  the  way  Mrs.  Spalding  gets  that  beautiful  curl  to 
her  rose  petals. 

By  all  means,  offer  really  handsome  PRIZES.  They 
may  all  be  merchandise  from  your  store,  of  course. 
But  select  things  that  will  make  a  sensation  when 
exhibited  as  Prizes  IN  YOUR  WINDOW.  For  EVERY 

WOMAN    WHO    SEES    THEM    will    knOW    that    SHE    IS    A 

POSSIBLE  WINNER.  Thus  hundreds  of  women  will 
come  for  weeks  just  to  pass  your  window  and  have 
another  look  at  the  beautiful  clock,  the  fine  wrist 
watch,  the  beautiful  handbag,  or  the  sewing  machine 
that  you  are  showing  for  first,  second,  and  third 
prizes.  Naturally  you  will  make  the  explanation 
that  any  woman  who  would  prefer  some  other  prize 

160 


A  PRIZE  FANCYWORK  CONTEST 

may  select  any  merchandise  of  equal  value  in  your 
store. 

Of  course,  this  Contest  must  be  liberally  advertised. 
For  you  will  get  the  fullest  results  only  by  getting  a 
lot  of  people  talking  about  it  and  working  for  it. 
Probably  you  will  need  to  have  some  of  your  clever 
and  influential  saleswomen  and  buyers  induce  their 
personal  friends  to  enter  the  Contest,  to  get  the  en- 
thusiasm started.  Then,  each  day,  your  advertising 
should  tell  how  women  have  already  started  on  their 
Prize  Work,  thus  stimulating  others  to  start  immedi- 
ately. 

It  is  most  important  that  you  should  secure  the 
names  of  five  or  six  prominent  women  to  serve  on 
your  Board  of  Judges.  Neither  the  Firm  nor  any- 
body in  the  store  must  be  in  any  way  responsible 
for  the  decisions  made  or  the  naming  of  the  Prize 
Winners.  You  will  be  very  sorry,  and  you  will  feel 
that  many  women  deserved  more  consideration,  but 
of  course  THAT  was  all  in  the  hands  of  the  eminent 
women  who  composed  the  Board  of  Judges. 

The  Prize  Contest  might  continue  for  six  weeks  or 
two  months — giving  a  long  time  to  exhibit  the  Prizes. 
Then  the  Prize  Work  Exhibition  should  be  held  for 
two  weeks — though  one  week  would  be  enough  if  the 
space  could  not  be  given  for  a  longer  time.  Then  the 
Prize- Winning  Pieces  should  be  exhibited,  with  the 
Prizes  won  by  them,  for  another  two  weeks.  Thus 
women  will  get  quite  hungry  for  YOUR  NEXT  CONTEST. 

Of  course,  you  will  not  overlook  every  opportunity 

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MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

to  get  newspaper  notices  about  the  Contest.  The 
papers  will  print  this  news  freely,  because  it  concerns 
their  subscribers.  They  will  print  the  names  of  the 
Board  of  Judges.  Then  they  will  print  a  notice 
about  the  Exhibition,  with  the  names  of  the  exhib- 
itors. Naturally  they  will  tell  an  interesting  story 
about  the  Prize  Winners. 

Then,  if  you  feel  like  giving  a  dinner  at  a  prom- 
inent hotel  or  restaurant  to  the  winners  and  the 
Board  of  Judges,  with  wisely  selected  newspaper 
representatives,  you  will  have  another  valuable 
newspaper  notice  about  it.  And  it  will  seem  like 
the  biggest  social  event  of  the  season. 

Thus  the  Fancy  Needlework  Contest  will  bring 
many  actual  immediate  sales.  It  will  arouse  tre- 
mendous interest  in  your  store.  It  will  make  every 
woman  talk  about  you.  It  will  get  big  FREE  ad- 
vertising for  you,  of  the  best  kind.  It  will  make 
people  earnestly  desire  that  you  do  it  over  again 
soon.  And  the  whole  cost  of  it  is  a  mere  shoestring. 


162 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

PROMOTING  BUSINESS  IN  MARCH 

Two  of  the  greatest  subjects  in  the  world  divide 
the  intense  interest  of  women  in  the  early  Spring: 

(1)  The  New  Fashions  in  Apparel. 

(2)  The  Cleaning  and  Redecorating  of  the  Home. 

Both  of  these  subjects  provide  very  broad  oppor- 
tunities for  the  shrewd  and  wideawake  merchant. 
Naturally,  every  storekeeper  offers  these  goods  for 
sale,  but  how  many  are  sufficiently  ingenious  and 
aggressive  TO  COMMAND  THE  ATTENTION  OF  THEIR 
ENTIRE  CITY  to  the  Apparel  and  other  merchandise 
that  they  have  to  offer. 

This  suggestion  comes  to  impress  you  with  the 
importance  of  doing  SOME  MIGHTY  IMPRESSIVE  THINGS 
in  your  store  and  in  your  advertising,  so  that  people 
will  be  impelled  to  COME  TO  YOUR  STORE  for  the  many 
things  they  need  INSTEAD  OF  GOING  ELSEWHERE. 

But   EVEN  IF  YOU   HAVE   NO   COMPETITOR    IN    YOUR 

TOWN,  you  can  tremendously  increase  the  desires  of 
your  public  by  tempting  advertising  and  unique 
displays  of  goods  in  your  store. 

During  the  months  of  March,  April,  and  May  the 
advertising  should  always  present  beautiful  pictures 

163 


MANUAL  OF   SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

of  fashionable  Dresses  and  Suits  for  Women  and 
Girls,  and  handsome  Millinery  heads,  if  you  sell 
Millinery. 

Nothing  attracts  women  like  smart  styles,  and 
nothing  gives  so  much  of  the  real  atmosphere  of 
Fashions  to  a  store  as  thoroughly  stylish  and  really 
beautiful  Pictures  of  women  in  handsome  hats  and 
gowns  used  freely  in  the  advertising. 

The  store  that  gets  the  reputation  of  having  the 
most  fashionable  Apparel  is  the  store  that  women  like 
most  and  do  most  of  their  shopping  in.  And  this 
reputation  can  be  made  by  the  constant  use  of  beau- 
tiful illustrations — provided,  of  course,  that  the  store 
is  not  negligent  in  keeping  up  its  stock  of  Stylish 
Apparel.  But  other  things  being  equal,  the  store 
that  continuously  prints  beautiful  illustrations  in  its 
advertising  is  going  to  make  people  see  the  most 
beauty  in  its  merchandise — for,  if  you  tell  people  a 
thing  continuously,  and  there  is  no  absolute  evidence 
to  the  contrary,  they  will  eventually  take  you  at 
your  own  estimate.  And  they  will  attribute  to  your 
Apparel  the  same  beauty  and  smartness  that  the 
artist  puts  into  the  picture. 

Then  you  can  give  a  wonderful  atmosphere  of 
Fashions  to  your  store  by  the  liberal  use  of  Store 
Posters,  on  which  are  printed  in  artistic  colors  beau- 
tiful pictures  of  women  gowned  in  the  latest  fashions. 
These  Posters  can  be  secured  at  quite  reasonable 
cost  from  syndicates  supplying  them,  and  as  sub- 
jects are  always  confined  to  one  store  in  a  city,  they 

164 


PROMOTING  BUSINESS  IN  MARCH 

have  all  the  distinction  of  being  absolutely  original 
with  you.     But  you  must  choose  the  illustrations 

Of  a  THOROUGH  ARTIST. 

As  a  rule,  the  finest  illustrations — pictures  of 
REAL,  LIVE,  beautiful  women,  dressed  in  the  most 
correct  fashions — cost  about  the  same  as  the  stiff, 
wooden,  unattractive  cuts  that  come  from  the  com- 
mon electrotype  makers.  One  of  the  great  factors 
of  strength  in  Wanamaker  and  Gimbel  advertising, 
creating  artistic  atmosphere  for  the  store,  and  im- 
pressing the  public  with  their  authoritative  position 
in  the  matter  of  Style,  has  unquestionably  been  the 
MAGNIFICENT  ILLUSTRATIONS  used  in  their  advertis- 
ing. 

Make  your  advertising  TALK  Fashions,  very 
strongly,  all  this  month  and  next.  But  remember 
that  Fine  Pictures  SPEAK  LOUDER  THAN  WORDS,  and 
while  people  sometimes  discount  what  you  SAY,  they 
cannot  escape  the  PLEASING  AND  COMPELLING  IM- 
PRESSION that  the  beautiful  pictures  create  for  your 
advertising  and  your  store.  Remember  that  every 
woman  is  HUNGRY  for  the  Fashion  news  that  you 
can  give  her.  If  you  tell  the  story  of  Style  every 
day,  she  will  always  BE  EAGER  TO  READ  your  adver- 
tising, and  while  you  are  catering  to  her  desire  for 
news,  you  will  be  creating  in  her  AN  INTENSE  DESIRE 
TO  POSSESS  the  Apparel  you  have  to  sell. 

Of  course,  I  know  that  not  all  stores  have  thorough 
Fashion  writers  in  their  Advertising  Departments, 
but  every  advertiser  should  be  a  ravenous  reader  of 

165 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Fashion  news,  and  sentences  and  paragraphs  can  be 
quoted  liberally  from  the  great  fashion  publications 
and  trade  journals.  But  remember  that  a  BEAUTIFUL 
PICTURE,  in  correct  style,  with  your  name  below  it, 
might  make  an  impressive  advertisement — if  you 
had  no  writer  at  all  to  create  the  fashion  story. 
Make  your  advertising,  your  windows,  and  your 
entire  store  EXPRESS  Fashions  in  the  strongest  pos- 
sible manner  all  this  month,  and  it  will  help  you  sell 
every  other  kind  of  goods  you  keep. 

Everybody  starts  Spring  Housecleaning  on  April 
1st.  First,  the  store  must  supply  the  things  needed 
for  the  actual  work  of  cleaning,  then  it  must  be  ready 
to  suggest  the  new  things  that  will  brighten  the  home 
and  supply  new  furnishings  and  new  adornment  to 
match  the  brightness  of  cleanliness  that  the  great 
Spring  work  has  produced. 

Every  housekeeper  in  your  town  or  city  needs  new 
brooms,  new  scrub  brushes,  soap,  mops,  clotheslines, 
carpet  beaters,  scrub  buckets,  stepladders,  and  the 
thousand  and  one  things  that  housecleaning  demands. 
This  is  the  time  to  make  a  great  Sale  of  these  things. 
A  bigger  sensation  can  be  made  over  selling  Soap  for 
ten  cents  less  on  a  dozen  cakes  than  can  be  made  by 
cutting  the  price  of  rugs  in  half.  Now  is  the  time  to 
make  a  sensation  just  that  way. 

April  is  the  time  for  a  Great  Sale  of  Sheets  and 
Pillow  Cases,  for  Sales  of  Linens  and  Towels,  for 
Rugs  and  Linoleums,  for  Window  Hangings  by  the 
yard.  But  it  is  also  the  greatest  Spring  month  for 

166 


PROMOTING  BUSINESS  IN  MARCH 

all  kinds  of  less  pretentious  Apparel :  Hosiery,  Under- 
wear, and  the  like. 

The  one  garment  that  women  are  always  ready  to 
buy  is  the  Shirt  Waist,  or  Blouse,  and  a  Big  Sale  of 
Waists,  where  a  new  style  has  been  actually  secured 
at  a  GENUINE  BARGAIN,  is  sure  to  pack  the  store 
and  sell  many  other  goods.  A  good  buyer  can  always 
get  such  a  bargain  in  Waists. 

The  CHIEF  POINT  OF  ALL  in  promoting  business 
at  any  time  is  NOT  TO  GET  IN  A  RUT.  Don't  go,  one 
year  after  another,  with  a  RING  IN  YOUR  NOSE,  to 

follow  WHAT  YOU  DID  LAST  YEAR.       It  is  wise  to  have 

certain  annual  and  semi-annual  events,  and  it  is 
always  important  to  rise  to  some  occasion  that  brought 
you  large  sales  the  year  before,  but  KEEP  YOUR  MIND 

OPEN    FOR    NEW    IDEAS. 

Last  year's  accomplishments  are  always  splendid 
TO  BUILD  UPON,  but  too  many  merchants  and  pro- 
moters are  content  to  do  only  what  has  been  done 
before.  New  ideas,  new  methods,  new  efforts  are 
necessary  to  create  a  GROWING  and  PROSPEROUS 
Business. 


167 


CHAPTER  XXX 
MAKING  EASTER  TIME  SELL  MORE  GOODS 

That  old  Greek  who  said,  "Give  me  a  fulcrum  on 
which  to  place  my  lever,  and  I  will  move  the  World 
with  the  strength  of  my  bare  arm,"  expressed  a  true 
advertising  principle.  The  Advertising  Man  is  always 
seeking  a  "fulcrum" — an  occasion,  an  excuse,  a 
reason,  an  argument — on  which  to  base  his  appeal. 

If  the  necessity  of  buying  goods  at  that  particular 
time  can  be  made  to  seem  REASONABLE,  the  reader 
of  the  advertising  is  always  more  easily  convinced 
that  the  purchase  should  be  made,  and  thus  the 
advertising  is  more  successful. 

Easter  time  is  such  a  "fulcrum" — an  occasion 
that  can  be  made  a  powerful  influence  for  selling  in 
many  directions.  Primarily,  it  is  the  time  to  sell 
Fashionable  Apparel.  Strong  advertising  can  make 
every  man  and  woman  alive  feel  CHEAP  and  absolutely 
DISGRACEFUL  if  they  appear  on  Easter  Day  in  any- 
thing but  spick  and  span  new  clothes.  Of  course, 
the  shrewd  merchant  makes  every  effort  to  spread 
this  feeling  universally,  and  thus  sales  are  built  up, 
because  women  want  to  avoid  the  absolute  MISERY 
of  being  seen  in  old  things  on  Easter. 

168 


EASTER  TIME 

The  basis  of  the  Advertising  should  be  the  estab- 
lishing of  the  feeling  that  EVERY  ITEM  OF  APPAREL 

WORN  ON  EASTER  DAY  SHOULD  BE  ABSOLUTELY  NEW. 

And  so  the  play  of  this  thought  is  used  for  Millinery, 
Suits,  Dresses,  Blouses,  Neckwear,  Gloves,  Veil- 
ings, Shoes,  Stockings,  Handkerchiefs,  and  every 
little  accessory  that  excuse  can  be  found  to  suggest. 
This  idea  is  based  on  the  old  religious  superstition, 
and  is  as  logical  as  it  is  valuable. 

The  Easter  thought  must  be  exploited  EVERY  DAY, 
in  the  strongest  possible  manner,  until  people  begin 
to  feel  conscience  stricken  if  they  neglect  to  buy  the 
the  things  suggested.  It  is  only  by  persistent  and 
forceful  presentation  of  these  selling  suggestions  in 
your  advertising  that  you  can  get  largest  possible 
results.  The  idea  will  not  develop  naturally  in 
the  customer's  mind.  The  seed  must  be  sown, 
and  it  must  be  cultivated  EVERY  DAY,  during 
this  vital  period,  so  that  people  do  not  "make 
the  old  gloves  do,"  and  get  along  with  the  old 
shoes,  and  wear  the  old  veil — or  even  the  old  silk 
dress. 

Selling  goods  is  a  constant  Tug  of  War  between  the 
public  and  the  merchant.  People  want  to  buy  only 
THINGS  THEY  ABSOLUTELY  NEED,  and  most  merchants 
would  starve  to  death  if  they  waited  for  people 
to  think  up  the  things  they  had  to  have.  Fill  your 
Advertising  with  strong  Fashion  talk  and  BEAUTIFUL 
PICTURES  to  creat  the  vital  atmosphere  of  Style  for 
your  store,  and  you  will  fascinate  women  and  gain 

169 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

their  deepest  interest.  At  this  moment  nothing  else 
compares  at  all,  in  importance,  among  thousands  of 
women,  with  the  vital  questions  around  "What  to 
Wear."  You  must  cater  intelligently  to  this  desire 
for  information  as  well  as  for  the  Apparel. 

The  merchant  who  succeeds  is  the  one  who  him- 
self, or  through  his  advertising  manager  or  his  mer- 
chandising manager,  by  means  of  advertising,  CREATES 

NEW  DESIRES  IN  PEOPLE'S  MINDS  EVERY  DAY  OF  THE 

YEAR.  Storekeepers  cannot  make  profits  on  money 
that  people  deposit  in  savings  banks.  It  is  their 
business  to  discourage  thrift. 

After  fullest  possible  attention  has  been  given  in  the 
advertising  to  Everything  in  Apparel  for  Easter, 
other  merchandise  should  be  strongly  suggested. 
First,  the  dress  goods,  silks,  trimmings,  ribbons— 
and  everything  else  for  the  making  of  apparel.  Then 
the  things  that  will  RENEW  THE  HOME  for  Easter: 
Fine  White  Linens  for  the  Table  on  Easter  morning; 
Handsome  new  Dimity  or  Embroidered  Bedspreads 
to  displace  the  heavier  sorts  used  all  winter;  a 
new  Breakfast  Set  of  China — the  desirability  of 
which  is  most  emphasized  on  Easter  morning;  a 
new  carpet  or  rug  for  the  Breakfast-room;  new 
Lace  Curtains  to  give  Easter  dress  to  the  Home. 
New  kitchen  wares  may  be  suggested  by  the  various 
devices  for  boiling  eggs. 

The  Toy  Opportunity  grows  larger  each  year,  as 
stores  develop  and  encourage  the  idea.  Right  ad- 
vertising, that  catches  the  eyes  of  the  children,  will 

170 


EASTER  TIME 

make  them  enthusiastic  for  the  idea  that  means  so 
much  to  the  merchant. 

In  the  chapter  on  "Planning  for  Christmas"  I  gave 
the  suggestion  for  a  "Mother  Goose"  or  "Father 
Bunny"  Prize  package  bazaar  for  Easter  time — car- 
ried out  on  the  same  lines  as  the  Santa  Glaus  Store 
for  Christmas.  The  bright  salesperson  is  dressed 
in  an  attractive  costume  to  represent  one  of  these 
characters,  and  sells  ready-wrapped  packages;  those 
containing  Toys  suitable  for  girls  are  wrapped  in  pink 
paper,  and  others  suitable  for  boys  are  wrapped  in 
white  paper;  so  that  each  child  will  get  an  appropriate 
and  pleasing  gift.  Ten-cent  or  twenty-five-cent  Toys 
are  selected  for  these  packages,  and  they  are  sold  at 
these  prices,  "sight  unseen,"  to  the  little  folks,  who 
are  wild  with  delight  to  know  what  the  "  surprise  "  may 
be,  which  has  been  picked  out  for  them  by  "Mother 
Goose. ' 

This  means  quick  sales,  sure  profits,  no  waste  of 
time  while  making  selections,  usually  no  delivery,  as 
the  children  cling  to  their  prizes  and  carry  them  home 
themselves.  And  there  are  very  few  exchanges. 
Of  course,  "Mother  Goose"  keeps  no  books,  and  must 
be  paid  Cash.  "Father  Bunny's  Easter  Toy  Ba- 
zaar," or  "Mother  Goose's  Easter  Prize  Fair,"  may 
be  started  as  quickly  as  the  costume  is  made 
and  continued  right  up  to  Saturday  night  before 
Easter. 

A  bright  circular  handed  to  the  school  children 
would  bring  them  by  hundreds  to  your  store  to  get 

171 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

a  "PRIZE  PACKAGE."  They  will  do  all  the  advertising 
after  you  let  them  know  about  it. 

Easter  Time  can  be  made  a  mighty  profitable 
season  from  many  different  angles,  if  best  use  is  made 
of  the  Occasion.  But  you  must  make  your  efforts 
in  many  differing  directions.  The  Fashions  appeal 
to  women  and  girls.  The  Easter  Toys  appeal  to  the 
children.  Play  one  strong  on  one  day,  and  the  other 
on  another,  and  often  both  together. 

Of  course,  if  you  sell  Men's  Apparel,  the  same 
Easter  argument  holds  good.  Every  man  must 
have  his  new  Easter  Suit,  and  the  giving  of  a  box  of 
Scarfs  to  men  friends  is  an  established  custom  that 
should  be  promoted  in  the  fullest  degree.  The 
Box  of  Scarfs  to  Men,  and  the  Box  of  Gloves  to 
Women,  should  be  emphatically  advocated,  and,  if 
the  store  displays  and  the  windows  show  Easter 
Eggs  cleverly  nested  in  these  Easter  Boxes,  there 
will  be  added  excuse  for  the  giving,  which  will  be  the 
only  incentive  required  to  make  hundreds  of  nice  sales. 

Help  every  buyer  in  your  store  to  find  some  way 
to  adapt  the  Easter  thought  to  the  selling  of  his  mer- 
chandise, and  you  will  be  surprised  and  gratified  to 
see  how  many  sales  may  be  secured  in  goods  that 
would  not  otherwise  be  sold. 


172 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
TRAINING  RETAIL  SALESPEOPLE 

To-day  the  entire  business  world  recognizes  the 
vital  importance  of  the  Salesman  and  Saleswoman. 

When  modern  business  development  brought  "One 
Price"  and  "Money  Back,"  it  was  thought  that  any- 
body could  sell  goods  on  that  principle — without  either 
knowledge  of  goods  or  training. 

To-day  merchants  and  manufacturers  are  alive  to 
the  error  of  that  theory,  and  the  Era  of  Education 
has  begun. 

It  takes  far  more  training  and  brains  to  stimulate 
desire  for  commodities  that  have  not  been  used  be- 
fore, and  for  articles  that  are  not  really  needed,  than 
it  did  in  the  old  days  to  get  the  best  of  a  customer 
when  he  or  she  was  dickering  for  something  that  was 
actually  needed. 

To  me,  the  Salesman  holds  the  same  position  in 
the  distribution  of  the  World's  products,  as  the  hand 
on  the  watch  does  to  the  telling  of  time.  Of  what 
use  is  all  the  skill  of  the  watchmaker,  the  delicate 
adjustment,  the  finely  tempered  steel,  and  the  care- 
fully set  jewels  that  hold  the  action  so  perfectly,  if 
there  are  NO  HANDS  ON  THE  FACE  OF  THE  WATCH  to 

173 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

tell  the  time  that  all  these  facilities  are  combined 
to  indicate  with  absolute  accuracy?  Or  what  good  is 
the  interior  mechanism  if  the  hands  of  the  watch  are 
bent  or  broken? 

Of  what  use  is  the  great  Ford  factory,  with  its 
wonderful  facilities  for  speedy  work  and  its  marvellous 
production  of  A  THOUSAND  GARS  A  DAY,  if  salesmen 
are  not  efficiently  selling  the  cars  at  the  same  pro- 
digious rate?  The  Hand  of  the  Watch  is  the  only 
thing  that  the  user  sees.  The  Salesman  is  the  only 
person  that  the  customer  sees.  The  Sale  depends 
upon  the  knowledge,  skill,  tact,  courtesy,  and  all- 
round  ability  of  the  salesman.  All  the  brains,  knowl- 
edge, and  genius  of  the  great  organization  never  come 
in  contact  with  the  customer. 

Of  course,  a  pound  of  sugar  might  be  sold  by  a 
slot  machine.  But  with  slot-machine  stores,  ten 
thousand  industries  would  go  to  smash  and  hundreds 
of  towns  and  cities  would  be  filled  with  people  out  of 
work.  Yet  thousands  of  stores  would  have  only 
slot-machine  service  except  for  the  Special  Providence 
which  gives  a  certain  percentage  of  salespersons  the 
intuition  to  TEACH  THEMSELVES. 

No  store,  however  small,  should  be  without  its 
school  a  single  day — in  business  hours  or  after  them. 

The  Law  may  not  permit  you  to  WORK  your  people 
after  hours,  but  it  certainly  will  not  forbid  you  to 
TEACH  them  the  things  that  will  enable  them  to  EARN 
MORE.  Many  municipalities  provide  Night  Schools 
to  teach  things  not  nearly  so  valuable.  Some  time 

174 


TRAINING  RETAIL  SALESPEOPLE 

all  large  cities  will  have  classes  in  Salesmanship,  as 
well  as  in  other  commercial  work. 

First,  teach  salespeople  the  SERIOUSNESS  of  the 
work.  Impress  Mary  Jones  with  the  fact  that  if 
she  sells  that  suit,  the  man  who  makes  that  kind  of 
suits  will  earn  that  much  more,  and  if  she  doesn't 
sell  it,  he  may  lose  his  job  or  earn  less  than  his 
family  needs  for  their  support.  Explain  to  her  that 
every  time  she  sells  a  suit  she  helps  the  farmer  who 
raises  the  sheep,  the  people  who  shear  the  wool,  the 
railroads  that  carry  it,  the  mills  that  card  and  weave 
it,  the  dyers,  finishers,  wrappers — the  people  in  the 
factory  where  the  suit  is  made,  as  well  as  the  people 
who  make  the  linings,  the  buttons,  and  all  others 
who  contribute  to  its  production  and  handling  in  any 
way.  Don't  you  think  that  Mary  Jones  will  be  a 
different  woman,  after  her  eyes  are  opened  to  the 
vital  IMPORTANCE  of  SELLING  the  goods  that  depend 
upon  her  to  be  sold,  in  order  to  have  so  many  people 
make  a  proper  living? 

After  the  seriousness  of  the  work  is  realized,  other 
lessons  may  be  taught.  The  ground  must  first  be 
prepared.  After  you  stimulate  the  imagination  and 
the  ambition  of  your  people,  SELLING  may  be  taught. 

Of  most  importance  I  consider  the  qualities  that 
must  be  DRAWN  OUT  of  the  salesperson — COURTESY, 
TACT,  and  PLEASANT  MANNERS.  If  these  cannot  be 
taught,  the  other  lessons  may  be  omitted.  The 
material  is  not  worth  any  labor  for  Salesmanship. 

The  Salesperson's  manners  must  be  AGREEABLE 

175 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

to  the  customer.  He  must  be  EARNEST  and  intel- 
ligently HELPFUL — never  familiar,  and  NEVER  RUDE 
under  any  circumstances,  no  matter  what  the  prov- 
ocation. 

NEATNESS  in  dress  and  absolute  CLEANLINESS  of 
person  are  vital.  They  cost  nothing  and  are  in- 
valuable. 

Every  Salesperson  must  be  a  Bureau  of  Information 
about  the  store.  The  customer  has  a  right  to  expect 
it,  and  the  management  should  never  permit  a  sales- 
person to  go  on  duty  before  being  thoroughly  taught 
store  routine.  The  ignorant  answer  of  a  new  clerk 
discredits  the  entire  store,  and  asking  other  clerks 
annoys  their  customers  and  wastes  more  time. 

Salespeople  must  be  taught  to  KNOW  THEIR  MER- 
CHANDISE. They  might  as  well  be  ignorant  of  the 
English  language  as  not  to  be  able  to  give  an  intel- 
ligent reply  about  the  goods  they  sell.  Every  sales- 
person should  become  an  EXPERT  in  the  goods  he 
sells.  This  is  necessary  to  have  the  respect  of  cus- 
tomers, to  influence  sales,  and  it  is  part  of  the  thing 
sold  to  know  how  to  use  it.  But  salespeople  are 
not  mind  readers,  and  must  be  TAUGHT.  Yet  how 
few  stores,  or  their  buyers,  ever  take  time  to  explain 
the  goods  to  the  people  that  must  sell  them.  Every 
manager  should  fix  stated  times  when  he  will  demon- 
strate to  his  people  the  use,  the  value,  the  construc- 
tion, the  quality,  and  the  comparative  value  of 
everything  in  stock  so  that  exactly  the  arguments 
that  sold  him  the  goods  may  enable  his  people  to 

176 


TRAINING  RETAIL  SALESPEOPLE 

sell  them  to  the  public.  This  will  make  goods  sell 
twice  as  quickly,  and  with  infinitely  greater  satis- 
faction to  the  customers. 

Salespeople  should  be  thoroughly  educated  in  the 
STORE  POLICY.  The  essential  points  should  be  printed 
on  cards,  and  always  in  the  possession  of  salespeople 
for  continuous  study.  They  should  be  frequently 
catechised  on  the  subject,  not  only  to  know  the 
words,  but  to  understand  the  meaning.  This  edu- 
cation is  a  great  work,  but  any  ignorance  of  a  sales- 
person reflects  upon  the  whole  store. 

Salespeople  must  be  taught  to  be  THOUGHTFUL. 
People  who  succeed  are  people  who  THINK.  In  no 
profession  is  it  more  vital  to  keep  the  mind  AWAKE 
than  in  selling  merchandise.  When  a  customer  asks 
for  something  out  of  the  ordinary,  in  the  way  of 
service,  it  is  so  easy  to  say,  "We  can't  do  that." 
Such  words  should  be  forbidden  salespeople.  They 
should  always  refer  such  things  to  a  manager.  But 
they  must  THINK,  in  order  to  know  what  to  do. 

The  salesperson's  mind  should  always  be  on  every- 
thing the  customer  says,  to  gather  information  about 
her  and  her  home  that  will  enable  the  clerk  to  sug- 
gest other  merchandise  likely  to  be  useful,  and  the 
THOUGHTFUL  salesperson  will  always  grasp  the  situa- 
tion best  for  the  making  of  an  unexpected  sale.  The 
bright  salesperson  always  discovers  possibilities  for 
extra  sales  in  every  customer,  and  with  her  mind 
alert,  has  excuses  for  suggesting  things  where  a  duller 
clerk  might  be  simply  annoying  to  the  customer. 

177 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  thoughtful  suggestion  of  other  merchandise  is 
often  really  HELPFUL  to  the  customer,  and  leaves  a 
pleasant  memory  of  the  thoughtful  salesperson  in  her 
mind  even  when  an  actual  sale  has  not  been  made. 
Thousands  of  women  would  be  glad  to  buy  many 
things  if  they  knew  that  they  existed,  and  they  are 
glad  to  be  informed,  in  a  courteous  and  thoughtful 
manner,  about  new  things  to  wear  and  to  decorate 
the  home.  Then  there  will  be  far  less  goods  to  be 
brought  back  to  the  store  to  demand  money  back  and 
to  be  reduced  in  price,  if  goods  are  thoughtfully  sold 
in  the  first  place. 

Probably  every  progressive  store  on  the  Continent 
is  worrying  about  Goods  Returned.  The  cost  and 
loss  of  this  extravagance  in  retailing  is  appalling. 
In  many  stores  20  to  25  per  cent,  of  the  goods  sold 
is  afterward  returned,  and  the  work  of  taking  goods 
back  is  10  to  20  per  cent,  more  costly  than  the  sell- 
ing. When  it  is  figured  out,  it  is  shown  that  the 
cost  of  selling  and  bringing  back  goods  that  are 
returned  ADDS  A  FULL  HALF  to  the  cost  of  selling  the 
goods  that  STAY  SOLD.  This  frightful  expense  is 
driving  up  GROSS  PROFITS  to  a  point  that  will  soon 
cause  the  public  to  rebel,  while  net  profits  grow 
smaller. 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  ways  to  cure  this  evil  is 
by  teaching  salespeople  to  sell  their  goods  so  intelli- 
gently and  thoroughly  that  they  will  STAY  SOLD.  If 
thorough  selling  is  taught,  and  foolish  selling  is 
eliminated,  there  will  be  much  bigger  profits  at  the 

178 


via 


TRAINING  RETAIL  SALESPEOPLE 

end  of  the  year,  and  customers  will  be  infinitely  better 
satisfied  with  your  store  service. 

Teach  your  people  to  watch  and  study  your  AD- 
VERTISING. The  Advertising  of  any  well-conducted 
store  expresses  the  strongest  arguments  for  the  mer- 
chandise, and  tells  much  about  the  store's  policy. 
It  is  always  a  source  of  valuable  information,  and  in 
the  larger  cities  it  is  one  of  the  earliest  duties  of  the 
day  for  salespeople  and  managers  to  carefully  read 
over  the  store's  advertising — to  know  WHAT  is  spe- 
cially advertised,  as  well  as  to  know  all  about  it.  The 
work  of  promoting  the  sales  of  the  entire  store  can 
be  made  infinitely  more  valuable  by  securing  the 
efficient  cooperation  of  the  salespeople,  in  connection 
with  the  Advertising. 

It  is  VITAL,  in  order  to  secure  good  work,  from 
people  in  any  trade '  or  profession,  to  STIMULATE 

THEIR  AMBITION,   and   tO   REWARD   by  PROMOTION   all 

who  are  worthy  and  who  have  demonstrated  im- 
provement in  efficiency.  There  must  be  tangible 
evidence  that  increase  in  salaries  and  promotions  in 
position  will  follow  earnest  and  efficient  work.  It 
is  not  in  human  nature  to  work  harder  and  more 
intelligently,  to  produce  bigger  sales  of  goods  bearing 
profitable  prices,  when  our  employer  is  making  all 
the  money  out  of  it.  And  he  is  a  short-sighted  and 
usually  a  not  very  successful  employer  who  refuses 
to  reward  the  people  who  are  making  money  for  him. 
It  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated  that  one 
well-educated,  intelligent  salesperson  is  worth  at 

179 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

least  two  that  are  careless — even  in  the  direct  selling 
of  goods  that  customers  ask  for;  but  probably  no  one 
will  ever  be  able  to  compute  the  intelligent  sales- 
person's value  in  making  permanent  customers  for 
the  store,  and  selling  goods  to  STAY  SOLD. 

If  the  firm  and  management  believe  in  Education, 
they  will  know  that  the  trained  and  thoughtful  sales- 
person at  $15  a  week  is  cheaper  than  the  careless  sales- 
person at  $6  a  week,  and  stimulate  their  energies  and 
ambition  accordingly,  to  their  own  greater  profit  and 
the  added  good  will  of  the  store. 

If  the  members  of  the  firm  could  realize  how  many 
times  every  day  in  the  year  their  own  reputation  and 
the  character  of  their  store  were  lowered  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  public,  and  how  many  dozens  of  times 
daily  good  customers  were  exasperated  by  untrained 
salespeople,  they  would  ACT  without  an  hour's  loss 
of  time.  Unfortunately  these  things  are  hidden 
from  them,  or  brought  to  their  attention  only  when 
some  bold  customer  rebels.  Then  the  customer 
that  kicks  is  considered  a  ' 'crank,"  and  the  sales- 
person is  given  a  "cussing  out"  or  is  fired.  But 
there  is  no  effort  made  to  educate  the  salespeople 
or  strengthen  the  organization  or  methods. 

EDUCATE  your  salespeople.  STIMULATE  their  am- 
bition. RETAIN  and  REWARD  the  thoughtful  and 
intelligent.  Then  you  will  sell  MORE  goods.  You 
will  sell  BETTER  goods  at  BIGGER  profits.  The  goods 
will  STAY  SOLD,  and  your  store's  prestige  will  grow 
while  people  enjoy  dealing  in  your  store. 

180 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
'  A  SOLUTION  OF  THE  CHARGE  ACCOUNT  PROBLEM 

Many  merchants  are  constantly  worrying  about 
their  "Charge  Account"  troubles.  Some  wonder 
whether  it  really  pays  to  do  a  credit  business.  This 
is  a  serious  problem,  and  it  cannot  be  answered  sim- 
ply by  deciding  that  you  will  not  give  Credit. 

Credit  is  the  life  of  Commerce.  It  is  the  greatest 
stimulus  to  trade  that  exists.  If  all  business  were 
to  be  restricted  to  Cash,  the  Commerce  of  the  Coun- 
try would  go  to  smash.  In  the  retail  business  it 
seems  most  primitive  to  ask  people  to  always  have 
the  money  in  their  pockets,  in  order  to  buy  goods  that 
they  want.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  be  mighty 
unwise  to  always  carry  large  sums  of  money  in  the 
pocket — especially  for  women,  who  don't  have  poc- 
kets, and  whose  handbags  are  easily  "picked"  or 
stolen.  Hence,  people  DO  NOT  have  money  in  BIG 
SUMS  in  their  pockets  to  pay  cash  with,  and  when 
they  think  they  want  to  buy  something  and  have 
to  wait  until  they  go  and  get  the  money,  NINE  TIMES 

OUT  OF  TEN  THEY  CHANGE  THEIR  MINDS  AND  DON?T 
BUY  AT  ALL. 

It  is  hard  enough  to  get  people  to  MAKE  UP  THEIR 

181 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 
MINDS  TO  BUY,  and  when  they  have  them  made  up, 

THE   SALE   SHOULD   BE   CLOSED   AT  ONCE.       If  the   CUS- 

tomer  has  a  Charge  Account,  it  is  EASY.  If  not,  and 
if  the  money  is  not  ready,  the  sale  will  probably  be 
lost.  Again,  the  charge  on  the  books,  on  an  account 
that  need  not  be  paid  at  once,  makes  the  expenditure 
twice  as  easy.  When  the  actual  cash  has  to  be 
counted  out — and  it  happens  to  LEAVE  VERY  LITTLE 
IN  THE  POCKETBOOK — a  change  of  heart  often  comes. 

Charge  Accounts  unquestionably  DOUBLE  and  often 
QUADRUPLE  the  possible  business  that  a  store  can  do. 
This  is  why  most  stores  do  a  Charge  business.  The 
problem  comes  in  making  the  collections.  People 
whose  commercial  rating  is  highest  are  usually  the 
slowest  in  paying  their  bills.  Wealthy  people  often 
decline  to  settle  accounts  more  than  twice  a  year. 
They  don't  want  to  be  bothered,  and  wonder  why 
the  merchant  worries  about  the  money  when  he  is 
so  sure  of  getting  it  or  having  it  left  to  his  heirs. 
The  carrying  of  Charge  Accounts  increases  the  volume 
of  any  good  business  to  such  an  extent  that  it  repays 
the  business  for  a  moderate  amount  of  losses.  And 
yet,  no  merchant — no  matter  how  much  his  business 
has  been  enlarged  by  the  Charge  Accounts — can 
bear  to  see  the  record  of  losses  from  bad  accounts  on 
his  books  at  the  end  of  the  year.  This  is  why  some 
solution  of  the  problem  is  sought. 

The  following  plan,  while  long  since  proven  most 
valuable  by  being  in  force  in  its  primary  features 
for  many  years,  has  new  features  which  should  make 

182 


THE  CHARGE  ACCOUNT  PROBLEM 

the  plan  very  popular  and  eliminate  the  worries  of 
collections,  while  conferring  on  your  customers  ALL 
of  the  advantages  and  conveniences  of  a  Charge 
Account,  and  DOUBLE  INTEREST  on  their  money,  as 
a  special  attraction — a  discount  that  you  can  afford 
to  pay  several  times  over  for  the  security  it  gives  you 
and  the  increased  business  that  it  will  bring. 

The  Plan  can  be  best  explained  by  quoting  the 
Announcement  that  should  be  made  to  the  Public 
when  adopting  the  Policy,  which  would  be  as  follows  : 

1  per  cent,  per  Month  for  Your  Money. 
To  Deposit  Account  Charge  Customers. 

We  put  in  operation  to-day,  in  our  business,  a  Plan 
which  not  only  confers  upon  our  patrons  all  the  con- 
veniences of  a  Charge  Account,  but  pays  handsome 
interest,  at  the  rate  of  12  PER  GENT.  PER  ANNUM,  on 
the  money  left  with  us  in  advance,  which  is  spent 
with  us  each  month.  In  brief,  the  Plan  is  this : 

Customers  who  wish  to  open  a  deposit  Charge 
Account  make  an  estimate  of  what  amount  of  money 
they  will  be  likely  to  spend  with  us  during  the  com- 
ing month.  This  sum  of  money,  or  a  check  for  the 
amount,  they  shall  bring  to  our  Deposit  Account 
Office,  where  we  will  give  them  pass  books,  each  being 
credited  with  the  amount  deposited — just  as  a  bank 
would  do.  This  at  once  establishes  your  credit,  to 
the  amount  deposited,  and  you  may  make  purchases 
against  the  account  in  our  store.  At  the  end  of  the 
month  a  statement  of  your  account  is  made  out,  and 
if  you  have  sufficient  money  deposited  to  cover  the 
amount,  you  are  credited  on  your  bill  with  1  PER  CENT. 

183 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

of  the  bill's  total,  which  is  deducted  from  the  amount 
that  you  pay  out  of  your  Deposit  Account. 

Thus  you  have  established  your  credit  without 
asking  friends  to  endorse  you,  you  have  had  all  the 
advantages  of  a  Credit  Account,  and  YOU  HAVE 

BEEN  PAID  TWICE  AS  MUCH  INTEREST  ON  THE  MONEY 
DEPOSITED  AND  DRAWN  AGAINST  DURING  THE  MONTH 

as  you  could  have  received  for  it  under  the  best  cir- 
cumstances, and  THREE  TIMES  AS  MUCH  as  you  would 
receive  from  the  Savings  Bank  for  leaving  it  there 
for  the  same  length  of  time.  Then  you  make  another 
deposit  to  cover  the  next  month's  purchases,  to 
again  have  1  PER  CENT.  OF  THE  MONEY  YOU  SPEND 
deducted  from  your  bill.  Try  a  DEPOSIT  CHARGE 
ACCOUNT  this  month,  and  you  will  never  be  without 
it  again. 

NOTE:  We  are  not  in  the  banking  business.  We 
accept  no  accounts  on  a  plain  interest  basis,  and  we 
pay  no  interest  on  money  deposited.  Interest  is 
paid  only  ON  MONEY  SPENT  in  our  store  during  the 
month  preceding  settlement.  This  Plan  is  a  matter 

Of     CONVENIENCE     and    PROFIT    for     OUR    CUSTOMERS 

exclusively. 

This  Plan  GUARANTEES  all  accounts  absolutely. 
You  make  collections  from  your  own  cash  drawer. 
It  gives  you  the  money  to  use,  with  no  other  obliga- 
tion than  to  supply  goods  out  of  your  stocks.  The 
interest  you  pay  is  an  insignificant  advertising  cost, 
or  purchasing  agent's  discount.  It  increases  your 
business  and  guarantees  all  your  Deposit  Charge 
Accounts. 

If  you  are  doing  a  strictly  Cash  business,  this 

184 


THE  CHARGE  ACCOUNT  PROBLEM 

will  not  change  your  policy  at  all.  You  still  have  the 
cash,  and  often  A  MONTH  BEFORE  PURCHASES  ARE 
MADE.  If  you  are  now  doing  a  Credit  business,  it 
will  enable  you  to  quit  giving  the  other  kind  of 
credit,  if  you  so  desire;  and  it  WILL  TEMPT  your  pres- 
ent charge  customers  to  come  in  under  the  new  Plan 
in  order  to  get  the  discount.  The  Plan  will  induce 
hundreds  of  your  Cash  Buyers  to  open  1  PER  CENT. 
accounts,  so  that  they  will  not  only  be  tempted  to 
BUY  MORE,  but  they  will  then  BUY  EVERYTHING  THEY 
WANT  at  YOUR  store  instead  of  dividing  the  amount 
among  your  competitors,  as  cash  buyers  usually  do. 

Almost  everybody  has  enough  cash  to  start  a 
deposit  account.  Practically  everybody  likes  to 
enjoy  the  feeling  of  having  money  on  deposit.  Hun- 
dreds of  people  will  be  EAGER  to  have  "Charge  Ac- 
counts" who  have  been  deprived  of  the  usual  courtesy. 
Hundreds  of  your  customers  will  enjoy  the  feeling  of 
having  you  know  that  they  have  money  on  interest 
with  you. 

The  Plan  is  one  of  the  greatest  "  hair-color  re- 
storers" ever  invented,  for  if  gray  hair  comes  from 
worry,  this  is  one  of  the  best  eliminators  of  worry 
that  the  merchant  ever  knew — particularly  the  mer- 
chant who  is  always  worried  about  his  bad  accounts. 
Of  course  you  want  to  avoid  creating  the  impression 
that  you  are  going  into  the  banking  business.  That 
is  why  the  statement  is  made  at  the  bottom  of  the 
Announcement.  Also,  it  must  be  clearly  understood 
that  if  a  customer  has  $100  on  deposit,  and  only  $60 

185 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

is  spent  that  month,  that  interest  is  paid  only  on  the 
$60  and  not  on  the  $100.  This  is  not  exploited  in 
the  advertising  because  you  don't  want  people  to 
figure  too  much  on  it;  but  if  complaints  of  that  sort 
are  made,  you  simply  suggest  that  they  deposit  a 
little  less  or  buy  a  little  more. 

This  plan  will  be  welcomed  by  hundreds  of  people 
who  dislike  to  give  references,  and  who  may  thus 
establish  their  own  credit  quite  independently  of  all 
friends.  It  will  also  give  the  opportunity  of  having 
charge  accounts  with  people  who  have  previously  dis- 
credited themselves  by  not  meeting  obligations. 
And  this  very  large  class  frequently  has  access  to 
considerable  money.  Their  circumstances  also  may 
change,  while  people  must  still  refuse  them  accom- 
modations because  of  past  delinquencies. 


186 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
THE  MAY  FAIR 

The  month  of  May  is  crowded  with  splendid  pos- 
sibilities for  the  wide-awake  merchant.  Just  be- 
cause it  usually  is  a  good  month,  many  stores  lay 
down  and  wait  for  what  naturally  turns  up,  and  thus 
they  lose  much  profitable  business. 

Of  course  you  should  not  sacrifice  profits  con- 
tinuously to  get  public  attention,  for  May  must 
make  enough  profits  to  more  than  take  care  of  the 
dull  months  coming.  Hence  the  need  of  other  ways 
to  keep  your  store  in  the  Public  Eye  and  interest 
people  in  buying  things  they  want  in  YOUR  store. 

The  public — and  women  especially — are  always 
susceptible  to  spectacular  things.  Any  store  oc- 
casion that  has  real  novelty  back  of  it  or  which 
presents  an  interesting  display  of  attractive  mer- 
chandise can  command  wide  interest. 

The  clever  merchant  must  keep  his  eye  open  to 
maintain  constant  interest  in  his  store,  and  to  create 
frequent  occasions  of  commanding  importance. 

In  planning  to  create  public  interest  for  this  valu- 
able month,  arrange  for 


"THE  GREAT  MAY  FAIR" 


187 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  Month  of  Flowers  suggests  beautiful  store 
decorations,  to  create  the  atmosphere  of  freshness 
and  beauty  and  give  a  physical  change  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  whole  store.  The  Muslin  Underwear, 
the  Linens,  the  Sheets  and  Muslins,  the  White 
Dress  Goods,  and  the  Lace  Curtain  departments 
should  present  an  array  of  White  that  will  give  a 
definite  character  to  those  important  sections,  and 
there  should  be  DAILY  Special  Offerings  in  one  or 
another  of  these  departments  ALL  MONTH.  These 
special  offerings  should  be  provided  for  by  special 
purchases,  where  attractive  bargains  can  be  secured 
from  the  makers,  or  where  special  prices  will  be  al- 
lowed on  limited  lots.  If  you  start  a  month  ahead  to 
prepare  for  the  May  Fair,  you  will  not  need  to  cut 
your  own  profits  to  secure  the  Daily  Bargain  Fea- 
tures that  should  add  interest  to  the  store  displays. 
I  would  start  the  month  with  THE  MAY  FAIR  OF  MUS- 
LIN UNDERWEAR  AND  BLOUSES,  presenting  the  com- 
plete Summer  assortments  of  women's  intimate  ap- 
parel and  the  New  Models  in  all  garments  that  have 
been  evolved  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  new 
modes  in  women's  suits  and  dresses.  This  will 
arouse  curiosity,  and  should  be  entirely  true  if  your 
stocks  contain  the  novelties  that  are  being  brought 
out. 

The  new  corsets  are  always  interesting  to  women, 
and  even  though  few  of  the  extreme  shapes  can  be 
sold  in  your  city,  you  should  arrange  with  your 
manufacturers  or  jobbers  to  have  a  display  of  THE 

188 


THE  MAY  FAIR 

MOST  EXTREME  SHAPES  THAT  ARE  MADE,  and  have  a 

demonstration  of  them,  on  Living  Models,  for  Women 
only,  and  show  them  in  your  windows,  on  display 
forms — associating  with  them,  in  all  displays,  the 
most  striking  and  most  beautiful  Lingerie. 

A  very  attractive  feature  of  the  Fair  will  be  secured 
by  an  Exhibition  of  Extreme  Novelties  in  Blouses,  of 
which  there  are  many,  and  which  may  undoubtedly 
be  borrowed  on  consignment,  even  if  you  do  not  see 
your  way  to  sell  them.  Unquestionably  most  of 
them  will  be  sold  to  women  of  your  city  who  will  be 
very  glad  to  have  garments  so  exclusive.  The  Ex- 
hibition and  the  Window  Display  of  these  Unique 
and  Beautiful  Blouses  will  cause  a  lot  of  talk  and 
add  to  your  reputation  for  the  newest  Fashions.  Ar- 
range for  an  Exhibition  and  Sale  of  Women's  Crepe 
and  Linen  Dresses,  to  be  ready  for  about  the  15th  of 
May.  A  fine,  beautiful,  specially  purchased  bargain 
offering  will  give  women  the  spur  to  come  to  see 
and  buy  from  the  Exhibition  of  your  entire  Summer 
stock. 

Another  Strong  feature  of  the  May  Fair  should 
be  the  EXHIBITION  OF  HOUSEKEEPING  LINENS  AND 
SALE  OF  TOWELS  which  should  start  the  Monday 
following  the  Lingerie  Sale.  The  Linen  Depart- 
ment should  be  splendidly  decorated,  and  all  the 
Fine  Table  and  Fancy  Linens  beautifully  displayed, 
so  that  housekeepers  will  be  delighted  to  visit  the 
department  and  see  the  fine  things  shown.  A  cleverly 
selected  collection  of  TOWELS,  purchased  and  sold 

189 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

at  a  Big  Bargain,  will  give  the  incentive  to  visit  the 
Linen  department  while  the  Exhibition  is  being  made. 
The  combination  of  Exhibition  with  the  Sale  gives 
the  opportunity  to  sell  many  goods  at  full  profit 
while  people  are  there  for  the  bargain;  and  if  the 
bargain  is  provided  for  ahead  of  time,  the  full  profit 
may  be  made  on  it  as  well. 

Nothing  is  so  important  as  to  continuously  PRO-* 

VIDE    SPECIAL    BARGAINS    AHEAD     OF    TIME,     SO    that 

profits  may  be  conserved  and  not  cut  out  of  regular 
stocks  when  the  attraction  is  to  be  advertised. 
Successful  stores  get  their  reductions  allowed  by 
manufacturers,  either  on  odd  lots  or  on  new  goods, 
when  the  regular  stocks  are  being  purchased,  and 
thus  they  prevent  the  tremendous  shrinkage  of 
profits  at  inventory  time. 

Other  features  for  the  May  Fair  can  be  created 
from  the  stocks  of  Sheets,  Pillow  Cases,  and  Muslins, 
the  White  Dress  Goods,  the  Lace  Curtains,  the  Under- 
wear, and  Hosiery  stocks.  Keeping  the  May  Fair 
in  the  minds  of  the  public  gives  a  larger  significance 
to  all  that  you  do  during  the  month.  It  makes  even 
your  small  offerings  take  on  a  larger  appearance. 
The  BIG  store  feature  always  creates  larger  impor- 
tance for  all  announcements,  and  adds  prestige  to  the 
store. 

Well-merchandised    offerings    of    Women's    Silk 
Dresses,  bought  at  special  prices  and  offered  at  a 
bargain,  will  multiply  your  sales.     Every  woman— 
not   absolutely   in   poverty — can   be   influenced   to 

190 


THE  MAY  FAIR 

buy  one  or  two  more  silk  dresses  in  April  and  May  if 
the  right  appeal  is  made  to  her  by  your  ready-made 
department.  Then  this  is  the  great  season  for  sep- 
arate skirts — serges,  corded  wool  fabrics,  and  silks. 
Sales  of  Separate  Skirts  should  make  big  business  in 
April  and  early  May. 

If  you  keep  an  alert  watch  on  your  stocks  during 
the  months  of  April  and  May,  and  keep  the  goods 
out  where  they  can  be  sold,  there  will  be  far  less  to 
worry  over  at  Inventory  time.  Decide  early  as  to 
whether  lines  are  selling  well  or  not.  If  not,  put  the 
knife  into  the  prices  at  once,  and  sweep  the  shelves 
clear  of  all  slow  stock.  If  YOU  leave  this  matter 
to  the  buyers,  and  the  buyers  leave  it  to  the  sales- 
people, you'll  only  have  it  to  do  in  July,  when  cus- 
tomers are  scarce  and  double  the  price  cuts  must  be 
made,  while  double  the  space  must  be  taken  to  do 
the  advertising.  Start  after  the  SLOW-SELLING  goods 
in  May. 


191 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

How  TO  GET  NEW  CUSTOMERS 

First,  you  must  make  an  intelligent,  continuous 
EFFORT  to  get  them.  I  find  that  most  stores  depend 
upon  luck  or  the  dying  out  of  their  competitors  to 
bring  New  Customers.  And  luck  may  be  bad,  and 
competitors  may  be  very  much  alive.  Newspaper 
Advertising,  as  it  comes  out  every  day,  will,  of  course, 
pick  up  new  people,  who  will  come  and  buy  goods— 
and  they  may  even  become  regular  customers.  But 
suppose  newspapers  bring  in  80  per  cent,  of  the  new 
customers — why  not  keep  busy  after  the  other  20 
FER  GENT? 

No  store  has  ever  definitely  figured  out  the  VALUE 
of  a  CUSTOMER.  But  they  always  spell  the  word 
with  capitals.  Customers  who  STAY  with  the  store 
are  often  caught  and  held  by  special  ATTENTIONS. 
People  like  to  KNOW  that  their  trade  is  the  object 
of  the  thought  of  the  owners  of  the  business.  It  is  a 
mighty  small  matter  for  the  Firm  to  dictate  a  letter, 
to  be  sent  out  once  a  year,  to  all  charge  and  cash 
customers  of  the  house,  THANKING  them  for  their 
patronage,  and  expressing  personal  APPRECIATION. 
Many  a  customer  FORGETS  a  serious  complaint  after 

192 


HOW  TO  GET  NEW  CUSTOMERS 

receiving  the  letter  that  tells  him  that  the  Owner 
is  THINKING  of  him  personally. 

The  same  kind  of  personal  attention  will  often 
make  Charge  Customers  of  people  who  have  just 
dropped  in  and  bought  something  for  cash.  And 
the  personal  letter  to  the  stranger  will  make  him  feel 
that  his  patronage  is  really  WANTED,  and  the  com- 
pliment will  win  his  good  will. 

The  Work  of  Getting  New  Customers  should  be 
going  on  ALL  THE  TIME,  and  it  should  be  done  with  a 
DEFINITE  Plan  and  Policy.  I  mean  by  this  that 
there  should  be  a  definite  effort  made  to  get  the 
attention  of  people  personally,  QUITE  APART  FROM 
THE  REGULAR  ADVERTISING.  This  work  should  be 
done  in  two  divisions.  The  Credit  Office  should  be 
seeking  and  inviting  new  Charge  Customers,  and 
an  entirely  different  manager  should  be  working  to 
solicit  New  Cash  business. 

The  Credit  Office  has  a  quite  simple  problem — 
though  there  is  a  great  deal  of  detail  work  about  it. 
First,  they  should  work  on  the  store's  Cash  customers 
to  try  and  make  Charge  Customers  out  of  them,  and 
thus  stand  a  better  chance  of  getting  ALL  of  their 
trade  as  well  as  tempting  them  to  buy  more  freely. 
Then  the  Credit  Office  should  have  a  list  of  ALL  the 
people  likely  to  make  Charge  Customers  in  the  entire 
territory  of  your  store.  Those  who  are  not  now  on 
your  books  should  be  investigated  as  to  their  eligi- 
bility for  Credit — entirely  without  their  application 
or  knowledge;  and  when  found  to  be  financially 

193 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

and  by  reputation  desirable  Credit  Customers,  they 
should  receive  a  polite  letter,  stating  that  they  are 
invited  to  make  use  of  the  Charge  Account  that  you 
will  take  pleasure  in  opening  for  them  at  any  time 
that  they  wish  to  make  purchases — stating  that  no 
further  formality  will  be  required  than  merely  saying 
to  the  salesperson  waiting  upon  them  that  the  goods 
are  to  be  "Charged." 

A  great  many  people  resent  being  cross-examined 
by  a  Credit  Man,  and  they  also  dislike  asking  friends 
to  act  as  "references."  This  can  all  be  avoided  by 
the  Credit  Office  investigating  independently.  Then 
the  letter  comes  as  a  surprise  and  a  pleasing  courtesy. 
No  matter  how  good  a  man's  credit  may  be,  he  is 
flattered  by  having  the  compliment  paid  to  him  of 
having  an  account  opened  without  any  apparent 
investigation,  and  he  is  impressed  with  the  pro- 
gressiveness  of  the  store  that  has  been  able  to  elimin- 
ate the  clumsy  and  unpleasant  way  of  opening  Charge 
Accounts. 

Even  the  customer  who  does  not  wish  to  open  a 
regular  account  will  often  purchase  something  special 
and  use  the  account  now  and  then — eventually  be- 
coming a  more  frequent  customer.  Of  course  the  in- 
vitation will  be  repeated  at  least  once  a  year.  As  the 
Credit  Office  has  a  File  of  all  these  "Prospect"  cards, 
there  will  be  no  trouble  about  referring  immediately 
to  that  cabinet  when  any  "Charge"  check  appears 
which  is  not  listed  among  the  regular  accounts.  It 
would  be  FATAL  to  have  some  smart  clerk  return  the 

194 


HOW  TO  GET  NEW  CUSTOMERS 

check  as  "No  Charge  Account"  and  have  the  goods 
sent  C.O.D.  after  such  a  customer  had  accepted  the 
courtesy. 

The  work  of  investigating  ALL  the  prospects  in 
your  community  need  be  done  only  as  fast  as  the 
work  can  proceed  economically.  But  the  Invita- 
tion goes  out  to  each  Prospect  as  soon  as  he  is  found 
eligible  for  the  Account.  And  the  Card,  opening 
the  Account,  goes  in  the  File  at  the  same  time,  so 
that  the  person  invited  is  never  turned  down  when 
the  account  is  used. 

The  other  Bureau,  which  should  be  an  Adjunct  of 
the  Advertising  Office,  works  on  ALL  names  in  the 
community  except  those  entirely  undesirable  for 
even  cash  business,  prospective  Charge  Customer 
names  being  included  with  those  of  spenders  who 
cannot  get  charge  accounts.  The  object  of  this 
Bureau  is  to  attract  Customers  who  do  not  now  deal 
at  the  store.  So  offerings  and  announcements  should 
be  made  to  them  which  do  not  appear  in  the  news- 
papers and  which  are  not  sent  to  regular  customers— 
either  cash  or  credit.  This  means  that  a  Card  List 
must  be  made  of  ALL  the  desirable  people  in  the 
community.  From  this  list  must  be  lifted  and  re- 
moved all  the  cards  of  Customers  now  on  your  books, 
as  well  as  the  names  of  people  who  deal  with  you 
regularly  and  pay  cash. 

If  you  do  not  now  have  a  list  of  your  Cash  Cus- 
tomers, the  work  of  compiling  it  should  be  begun  at 
once — taking  the  names  from  salesbooks  where  cash 

195 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

is  paid,  and  these  names  taken  out  of  the  Prospect 
List  as  fast  as  they  show  on  the  cash  books.  With 
this  Prospect  List  to  work  on,  the  Bureau  of  New 
Customers  will  merchandise  and  advertise,  by  letter 
or  circular,  a  series  of  intensely  attractive  Special 
Offerings,  sometimes  asking  that  the  Coupon  on 
the  circular  be  returned  in  order  to  secure  the  goods 
at  the  special  price,  sometimes  sending  samples 
of  goods  which  do  not  require  a  coupon,  because 
the  tags  may  be  marked  to  indicate  that  they  are 
being  presented  by  a  New  Customer. 

These  offerings  should  be  alternated  in  form,  be- 
cause some  people  would  not  think  of  returning  a 
Coupon,  and  others  would  be  doubly  impressed  with 
the  bargain  by  reason  of  it.  All  tastes  and  opinions 
must  be  catered  to;  and  if  one  customer  comes  and 
asks  for  the  bargain  that  demands  a  Coupon,  you 
should  not  insist  upon  the  coupon,  because  the  fact 
that  the  goods  are  asked  for  at  the  price  named 
indicates  that  the  customer  has  the  circular  and  is 
one  whose  custom  you  are  seeking. 

A  series  of  special  offerings,  if  they  are  GENUINE 
and  of  the  DESIRABLE  sort,  will  make  a  very  large 
IMPRESSION  on  these  people  of  whom  you  desire  to 
make  Customers.  Even  if  they  do  not  actually 
come  and  buy  at  the  time,  you  are  making  a  valuable 
impression  that  will  be  of  use  in  the  future.  Of 
course  the  RESULTS  will  depend  entirely  upon  how 
intelligently  the  Bureau  of  New  Customers  does  its 
work. 

196 


HOW  TO  GET  NEW  CUSTOMERS 

The  Merchandise  to  be  offered  must  be  selected 
with  great  judgment:  for  its  excellence,  desirability, 
seasonableness,  good  style,  and  good  taste.  Then 
the  PRICE  should  cut  profit  to  the  bone  to  COMPEL 
the  Prospective  Customers  to  come  to  your  store. 
Remember  that  you  do  not  need  to  have  this  Special 
Offer  goods  on  sale  generally,  or  shown  at  all  until 
people  ask  for  it.  Then  it  can  be  put  back  on  the 
shelf  or  under  the  counter  again.  After  the  names 
of  these  Prospects  begin  to  show  on  your  delivery 
checks,  their  cards  may  be  removed  from  the  "Pros- 
pect" cabinet  and  put  among  the  Cash  Customers 
List — so  that  you  do  not  use  up  your  Special  Offer 
ammunition  upon  them  after  they  have  been  brought 
to  the  store  several  times. 

If  your  Auditing  Department  or  cashiers  send  the 
checks  to  the  Bureau  of  New  Customers  as  soon 
they  are  through  with  them,  you  can  keep  your 
records  checked  up  and  be  able  to  note  on  the  back 
of  every  card  the  dates  when  purchases  are  made. 
Then  as  soon  as  several  months  go  past  without 
seeing  a  record  of  a  sale  on  any  card,  put  it  back  on 
the  Prospect  List  and  let  the  Special  Offers  bring 
the  store  to  the  customer's  attention  more  emphati- 
cally again.  One  or  two  girls  can  keep  up  this  work, 
and  well  repay  the  expense  IF  THE  WORK  OF  THE 
BUREAU  is  well  done.  Keep  FOREVER  seeking  New 
Customers.  Then  you  will  learn  how  VALUABLE 
all  customers  are,  and  you  will  be  all  the  more  careful 

NOT  TO  LOSE  OLD  CUSTOMERS. 

197 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

KNOW  WHAT   YOUR   COMPETITORS   ARE   DOING. 
DON'T  UNDERESTIMATE  THEM 

The  fine  old  store  that  has  had  everything  its  own 
way  for  a  generation  is  a  very  pathetic  figure  when 
it  comes  to  realize  that  some  "little  upstart"  is 
getting  the  business  away  from  it.  It  is  very  common 
to  hear  merchants  say  when  the  new  store  is  opened, 
"Well,  I  guess  he  won't  get  very  far,"  and  then  ignore 
the  newcomer  and  thus  give  him  the  chance  to  get  a 
lot  farther  than  he  could  ever  get  if  the  solid  mer- 
chant had  his  eyes  open  and  did  not  permit  him  to 
steal  away  his  customers  right  under  his  very  eyes, 

BECAUSE  HIS  PRIDE  WOULD  NOT  ALLOW  HIM  TO  TAKE 
ANY  NOTICE  OF  THE  NEW  STORE. 

The  fact  that  a  NEW  store  has  been  conceived,  and 
that  the  promoters  have  the  nerve  to  undertake  to 
compete  with  him  in  his  own  territory,  should  make 
any  merchant  give  new  consideration  to  any  man 
— even  a  despised  employee  of  his  own,  who  has  found 
a  backer  who  saw  more  in  him  than  his  own  employer 
did.  The  only  store  that  is  absolutely  sure  of  re- 
taining its  position  and  its  customers  is  the  one  that  is 
managed,  merchandised,  and  promoted  in  the  most 

198 


WHAT  YOUR  COMPETITORS  ARE  DOING 

aggressive  and  progressive  manner  that  exists  in  that 
community. 

Public  loyalty  to  a  good  old  store  does  not  exist 
one  day  longer  than  the  appearance  of  the  new  and 
better  store.  People  are  quick  to  try  the  new  store, 
because,  in  the  course  of  years,  even  a  well-conducted 
store  will  have  caused  dissatisfaction  on  certain 
occasions  to  almost  all  of  its  customers.  If  its  serv- 
ice and  merchandise  have  been  above  reproach  in  a 
thousand  transactions,  the  store  may  lose  a  customer 
on  ONE  mistake  or  misunderstanding.  Such  is  the 
unfortunate  UNREASONABLENESS  of  human  nature. 

No  opinion  or  action  of  the  merchant  can  CHANGE 
HUMAN  NATURE.  Whether  unfair,  unreasonable,  un- 
grateful, or  what  it  may  be  called,  the  merchant  must 

MEET    CONDITIONS    and    OVERCOME   THEM.      He    HlUSt 

get  out  of  his  RUT.  He  must  generate  new  energy 
to  meet  the  strong  effort  that  is  going  to  be  made  by 
the  New  Store.  Perhaps  it  is  true  that  the  "New 
Broom"  will  sweep  clean  only  while  it  is  a  new  broom; 
but  during  that  period  the  Old  Broom  must  be  given 
new  activity,  and  must  absolutely  prevent  the  new 
store  from  running  away  with  the  trade.  Pride  must 
be  thrown  in  the  rubbish  heap,  and  the  competition 
must  be  met  and  beaten  with  the  great  strength  that 
the  old  store  has — IF  IT  USES  IT.  And  the  same 
reasons  hold  true  in  relation  to  old  competition 
which  may  be  revived,  or  rejuvenated,  overnight 
by  new  blood  in  the  organization  or  a  New  Idea  that 
has  come  to  the  management. 

199 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

For  this  reason  no  merchant  is  SAFE  who  does  not 
KNOW  all  the  time  what  his  competitors  are  doing — 
what  trade  they  are  getting  from  him — what  mer- 
chandise they  are  showing — what  prices  they  are 
selling  goods  for — what  special  service  they  are 
giving — what  special  inducements  they  are  making 
for  trade  of  any  sort — how  they  take  care  of  com- 
plaints— what  methods  they  may  be  using  to  get 
new  charge  customers,  or  to  keep  happy  those  now 
on  their  books — what  kinds  of  advertising  do  they 
do  that  is  not  in  the  public  eye. 

The  big  New  York  stores  maintain  their  Comparison 
Departments  at  very  great  expense,  to  KNOW  ALL 
THE  TIME  just  what  every  other  store  is  selling  and 
how  the  quality  and  price  compare  with  their  own 
goods.  They  also  keep  constantly  informed  about 
a  thousand  matters  of  service  and  store  policy;  so 
that  no  store  can  establish  any  new  method  without 
the  fact  becoming  IMMEDIATELY  known,  and  perhaps 
copied  before  the  public  has  discovered  who  orig- 
inated it.  This  knowledge,  which  is  considered  so 
vital  by  the  big  city  stores,  is  not  one  whit  less  im- 
portant in  the  smaller  cities.  In  fact,  so  intense  is  the 
competition  in  small  cities,  and  so  small  is  the  tran- 
sient business,  that  it  is  FAR  MORE  IMPORTANT  there 
than  in  the  large  city. 

KNOW  what  your  competitor  is  doing  ALL  THE  TIME. 
Don't  UNDERESTIMATE  anything  that  he  does.  Don't 
trust  your  own  judgment  as  to  what  the  public  may 
think  of  it.  INVESTIGATE  the  results,  but  don't  take 

200 


WHAT  YOUR  COMPETITORS  ARE  DOING 

anybody's  mere  opinion  about  it,  for  the  public  is  a 
very  queer  animal  at  times.  Above  all,  don't  trust 
merely  to  the  opinions  of  your  own  managers  and 
buyers.  They  may  know  only  PART  of  the  facts,  and 
they  are  prejudiced  against  their  rivals  in  the  other 
stores — perhaps  jealous  of  them,  and  always  willing 
to  underestimate  them. 

I  have  had  very  close  association  with  FIVE  of  the 
largest  stores  in  New  York  City,  and  I  have  found 
ALL  OF  THEM  filled  with  this  habitual  professional 
contempt  for  the  abilities  of  the  buyers  in  the  other 
stores.  Their  judgment  of  the  merchandise  sold  by 
their  rivals  is  usually  very  unreliable.  But  the  firms 
usually  rely  upon  these  false  opinions,  and  are  rarely 
informed  in  any  reliable  manner  of  what  competitors 
are  doing  EXCEPT  BY  THEIR  COMPARISON  OFFICES, 
and  these  often  get  into  the  same  rut  of  underestimat- 
ing rival  stores. 

Never  ridicule  a  method  introduced  by  a  competi- 
tor until  the  public  has  turned  it  down;  for  the 
incomprehensible  public  may  favor  it,  and  you 
may  be  compelled  to  adopt  it  in  self-defence. 
When  you  KNOW  what  your  competitor  is  doing 
you  are  in  position  to  do  something  BETTER  than 
he  is  doing.  If  you  don't  know  what  he  is  doing 
you  may  come  out  with  a  sale  or  a  policy  that  is 
notoriously  weaker  than  his,  and  suffer  great  humilia- 
tion and  loss  of  prestige  by  the  mistake  of  ignor- 
ance. 

Never  judge  the  public  opinion  of  your  competitor 

201 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

by  what  your  friends  say  to  you  about  him.  Courtesy 
and  friendship  are  responsible  for  some  very  tall 
lying.  The  very  people  who  jolly  you  when  they 
meet  you  may  be  buying  most  of  their  goods  from 
your  competitor. 

In  meeting  competition  it  is  usually  foolish  to  do 
counter  price  cutting  on  the  SAME  GOODS,  for  this 
brings  back  another  cut  and  the  winner  in  the  fight  is 
the  biggest  loser  in  profits.  When  your  competitor 
gets  you  excited  over  some  price  cut  he  has  made  on 
certain  goods  it  is  well  to  have  your  price  MEET  his 
without  advertising  the  fact.  This  takes  the  wind 
out  of  his  sails  with  people  who  casually  discover  that 
your  price  is  the  same  without  your  having  boasted 
about  it.  Then,  if  you  want  to  get  the  public  at- 
tention to  your  goods,  make  a  sensational  price  cut 

On  SOME  OTHER  LINE  OF  GOODS. 

To  be  able  to  act  wisely  and  effectively,  under  all 
conditions,  you  must  KNOW  what  your  competitors 
are  doing  all  the  time.  Seek  this  knowledge  by  em- 
ploying at  least  one  person  to  secure  this  information 
every  day  of  the  year;  but  also  seek  outside  informa- 
tion by  getting  your  friends  to  arouse  conversation 
about  your  store  with  their  friends  and  friends  of 
your  competitors.  Tell  them  that  you  don't  want 
to  hear  good  things  but  you  want  them  to  discover 
for  you  the  BAD  THINGS  that  your  rivals  and  the  public 
are  saying  about  you.  Then  digest  this  gossip  with 
an  open  mind.  Whether  true  or  not,  don't  forget 
that  it  is  WHAT  PEOPLE  ARE  SAYING  ABOUT  YOU  and 

202 


WHAT  YOUR  COMPETITORS  ARE  DOING 

about  your  competitors.  When  you  KNOW  all  about 
your  competitors,  and  ACT  with  a  LARGER  estimate 
of  them  than  the  real  measure  of  their  strength,  you 
will  not  only  beat  them,  but  keep  them  safely  behind 
you. 


203 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
How  ADVERTISING  ADDS  VALUE  TO  MERCHANDISE 

There  are  thousands  of  stores  to-day  losing  at  least 
half  of  the  value  of  the  advertising  space  they  buy 
because  they  do  not  know  or  recognize  the  fact  that 
Advertising  definitely  adds  value  as  well  as  attrac- 
tiveness to  the  merchandise  that  is  intelligently  ex- 
ploited. If  you  hear  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  some 
theatrical  show — how  clever  a  certain  actor  is,  how 
beautiful  several  of  the  actresses  are,  and  you  know 
their  names — if  you  are  told  about  certain  things  in 
the  play  that  you  watch  for,  you  KNOW  that  you  are 
going  to  SEE  a  lot  more  in  that  show  than  you  would 
if  you  just  happened  to  drop  in  to  see  it  without 
having  heard  anything  about  it. 

If  you  walk  through  the  great  Art  Gallery  in  Paris, 
where  the  Mona  Lisa  is  hung,  you  may  notice  the 
beautiful  head  of  a  woman,  and  pass  on  without 
knowing  that  it  is  one  of  the  world's  greatest  master- 
pieces; but  if  you  have  been  told  to  look  for  the 
Mona  Lisa,  and  know  what  characteristics  have  made 
it  world  famous — know  just  what  to  look  for  in  the 
painting — you  will  SEE  infinitely  more  than  you  would 
otherwise. 

204 


HOW  ADVERTISING  ADDS  VALUE 

This  great  fact  in  human  nature  points  to  the  def- 
inite advantage  that  can  be  gotten  out  of  advertising 
after  the  advertiser  realizes  the  truth.  To  merely 
list  merchandise,  or  merely  quote  bargain  prices  and 
former  values,  is  to  LOSE  HALF  of  the  value  of  the 
space  in  which  your  advertising  appears.  The  great 
strength  of  the  Wanamaker  and  Gimbel  Advertising 
lies  in  the  policy  of  always  telling  people  WHAT  TO  SEE 
in  the  merchandise  advertised  and  in  the  store. 

John  Wanamaker  has  taught  people  to  know  what 
kind  of  a  store  his  is  by  repeating  day  after]  day,  in 
his  advertising,  THE  THINGS  THAT  HE  WANTS  PEOPLE 
TO  THINK  ABOUT  HIS  STORE.  Of  course,  John  Wana- 
maker does  not  tell  the  people  to  think  anything  that 
he  does  not  make  true;  but  things  that  it  would  take 
a  lifetime  for  people  to  DISCOVER  for  themselves  he 
tells  them,  so  that  he  will  get  the  benefit  of  their 
knowledge  about  his  store  IMMEDIATELY. 

The  woman  who  buys  an  Oriental  Rug  does  not 
get  merely  a  piece  of  floor  covering:  she  gets  a  bit  of 
the  mystery  of  the  Orient  with  it.  Perhaps,  if  it  is 
a  fine  one,  she  gets  an  interesting  STORY  of  its  origin 
and  rarity.  And  she  takes  infinitely  more  delight  in 
TELLING  the  story  of  the  rug  to  her  friends  than  she 
does  in  merely  SHOWING  it  to  them.  The  STORY 
of  that  rug  very  definitely  ADDS  VALUE  to  the  goods. 
This  is  why  all  GOOD  Advertising  tells  the  STORY  of  tke 
goods — tells  people  WHAT  TO  SEE  IN  THEM — tells 
them  WHY  the  goods  are  desirable  and  better  than 
other  goods. 

205 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  talk  that  some  merchants  think  to  be  a  foolish 
waste  of  space  is  all  the  time  proving  to  the  readers 
that  the  merchant  who  is  back  of  that  advertising 

KNOWS  WHAT  HE  IS  TALKING  ABOUT — knOWS  his  buSl- 

ness,  hence  is  a  good  merchant  to  deal  with.  All 
goods  look  pretty  much  alike  in  competing  lines;  but, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  goods  that  is  advertised 
by  having  its  STORY  well  written  will  sell  several 
times  as  fast  and  as  easily  as  the  other  goods  that 
simply  stands  on  its  price  and  its  supposed  quality 
to  find  purchasers. 

It  is  the  same  way  with  the  store  itself:  two 
stores  may  be  equal  in  character,  merchandise,  and 
service,  and  may  sell  goods  on  the  same  margin  of 
profit;  but  the  ONE  THAT  is  BEST  ADVERTISED — that 
has  told  about  it  day  after  day  THE  BEST  STORY — is 
going  to  do  a  vastly  larger  business  than  the  one  that 
prints  its  name  and  its  price  lists  in  the  same  size 
newspaper  space.  Take  a  line  of  Dress  Goods,  of 
Linens,  of  Gloves,  of  Shoes — no  matter  what  it  may 
be — and  tell  how  it  was  produced,  with  what  care 
and  thoroughness  it  was-  made,  how  skilfully  it  was 
selected,  how  excellent  the  style,  and  how  fine  the 
finish,  and  you  have  given  your  customers  something 
to  SEE  in  the  goods  and  something  to  make  them 
happy  about  them  after  they  buy  them. 

It  is  Human  Nature  to  be  very  easily  led.  It  is 
human  nature  to  BELIEVE  what  is  read.  We  are  all 
very  susceptible  to  a  plausible  story,  whether  we  read 
it  or  hear  it.  That  is  why  Advertising  has  such  a 

206 


HOW  ADVERTISING  ADDS  VALUE 

power.  That  is  why  dishonest  advertising  makes  so 
many  dupes.  But  if  the  dishonest  advertiser  can 
get  such  wonderful  results,  why  should  not  the  Honest 
Merchant  apply  as  much  of  the  other  fellow's  power 
to  his  advertising  as  he  can  in  an  absolutely  honest 
way?  If  the  plausible  story,  even  when  untrue,  has 
such  tremendous  drawing  power,  does  it  not  demon- 
strate conclusively  that  it  is  THE  STORY  that  influences 
people  to  the  fullest  action? 

The  merchant  who  can  get  it  out  of  his  head  that 
all  the  people  want  to  read  is  Price  Lists  has  made 
some  progress.  Many  a  good  advertisement  has  no 
prices  in  it  at  all.  The  best  advertising  is  that  which 
constantly  divides  public  attention  between  the  Story 
of  New  Goods  and  the  Bargain  offerings.  Don't 
write  folderol  or  twaddle.  Learn  REAL  FACTS  about 
the  goods  to  be  advertised — find  the  human  interest 
story  in  them  or  in  their  use — then  write  the  story 
in  simple,  direct  words,  in  an  earnest,  respectful 
manner,  and  you  will  have  good  advertising  that  will 
give  you  full  value  for  the  space  you  buy  to  print  it  in. 

The  big  National  advertisers  KNOW  all  these  things, 
and  they  TELL  THE  STORY  OF  THEIR  GOODS  so  thor- 
oughly and  so  continuously  that  PEOPLE  DEMAND 
THEM,  and  if  shown  other  goods  very  frequently  GET 
VERY  ANGRY  at  the  store  that  tries  to  sell  them  "some- 
thing just  as  good."  Very  often  the  nationally 
advertised  goods  is  no  better  than  many  other  kinds 
that  are  not  advertised,  but  THE  MANUFACTURER'S 
ADVERTISING  has  created  A  NEW  FACTOR  OF  VALUE 

207 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

FOR  THEM  by  the  Story  that  has  been  read  by  so 
many  thousands  of  people.  They  KNOW  what  the 
advertised  goods  is  because  they  have  read  about  it 
so  often.  They  do  NOT  know  about  the  other  goods. 
The  same  thing  applies  to  YOUR  goods  and  your  store. 
The  goods  you  have  on  your  shelves  may  be  very 
similar  to  that  in  your  competitors'  stocks,  but  you 

Can    ADD    TREMENDOUSLY   TO    ITS    VALUE    by    TELLING 

THE  STORY  of  what  you  have.  You  need  only  to  tell 
the  truth,  for  the  truth,  even  if  weak,  may  be  told  in 
a  manner  to  be  infinitely  more  valuable  than  silence. 

If  two  men  apply  for  a  job,  and  they  are  equal  in 
ability  and  other  qualities,  and  ONE  has  a  good  rec- 
ommendation with  him,  YOU  WILL  ALWAYS  HIRE 

THE    MAN    WITH    THE    RECOMMENDATION.      Your    Ad- 

vertising  is  the  Recommendation  of  your  goods;  and 
the  oftener  and  the  more  strongly  you  recommend 
your  goods  the  better  they  will  sell,  and  the  more 
people  will  think  of  them  after  they  buy  them.  For 
they  will  not  only  see  the  qualities  on  the  surface,  but 
they  will  believe  them  to  possess  all  the  good  qualities 
that  they  read  about  in  the  Advertising.  In  the 
same  way  you  must  RECOMMEND  YOUR  OWN  STORE. 
How  earnestly  and  continuously  this  has  been  done 
by  John  Wanamaker  is  a  matter  of  history,  and  he  has 
reaped  the  reward. 

,  First,  you  must  MAKE  your  Store  WORTHY  of  the 
recommendation,  then  don't  be  afraid  to  let  people 
know  what  you  are  doing.  Give  it  the  strongest 
recommendation  you  can — THEN  LIVE  UP  TO  IT. 

208 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

GET  GOOD  SALESPEOPLE — POOR  ONES  COST  TWICE 

AS  MUCH 

Previous  to  the  opening  of  their  new  store  on 
Fifth  Avenue  Lord  &  Taylor  published  a  large 
advertisement  for  Salespeople.  They  said,  in  part, 
:<We  want  to  hear  from  men  and  women  who  know 
that  they  are  the  BEST  in  their  particular  lines. 
We  want  only  those  capable  of  earning  the  highest 
salaries  paid,  and  who  are  ambitious  for  the  future." 
That  was  not  only  a  tremendously  impressive  ad- 
vertisement upon  the  general  public,  but  it  made  every 
smart  salesperson  in  the  country,  whose  eyes  fell 
upon  that  particular  paper,  EAGER  to  communicate 
with  the  Superintendent  of  that  store.  And,  more 
than  that — it  illustrated  THE  SMARTEST  POLICY  IN 

STOREKEEPING. 

The  merchant  who  fully  realizes  the  importance  of 
having  efficient,  courteous,  tactful,  earnest  sales- 
people, and  WHO  is  WILLING  TO  PAY  THE  HIGHEST 
WAGES  TO  THEM,  is  going  to  get  the  biggest  business 
and  make  the  largest  profits  in  the  long  run.  First, 
the  GOOD  salesperson  not  only  sells  more  goods  di- 
rectly than  the  poor  one,  but  the  goods  STAY  SOLD. 

209 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

The  GOOD  salesperson  ATTRACTS  TRADE  to  the  store. 
The  poor  salesperson  REPELS  customers,  and  gives  a 
bad  impression  of  the  store.  The  GOOD  salesperson, 
by  courtesy,  tact,  and  creative  salesmanship,  sells 

BETTER  GOODS  and  GOODS  CARRYING  FULL  PROFITS. 

Even  in  busy  New  York  there  are  many  salespeople 
that  are  so  well  liked  that  hundreds  of  people  pa- 
tiently wait  their  turn  to  be  served  by  them  rather 
than  be  immediately  waited  upon  by  people  less 
efficient. 

Wouldn't  it  be  a  marvellously  successful  store  that 
employed  none  but  star  salespeople?  Wouldn't  peo- 
ple come  to  that  store  in  spite  of  any  price  attractions 
that  could  be  offered  elsewhere?  Isn't  intelligent, 
pleasant  SERVICE  a  commodity  of  infinitely  greater 
value  than  the  saving  of  a  few  pennies?  Wouldn't 
you  rather  have  as  your  customers  the  people  of 
your  community  who  appreciated  GOOD  SERVICE 
than  the  crowd  that  was  always  rushing  for  bargains 
on  which  there  were  only  small  profits  or  none  at 
all? 

Have  you  ever  fully  realized  that  Your  Store  is 
no  better  than  your  CHEAPEST  SALESPERSON  to  all 
the  people  that  the  cheapest  salesperson  comes  in 
contact  with.  Nobody  blames  the  cheap  salesperson. 
The  blame  for  ignorance  goes  where  it  belongs — to 
the  owner  of  the  store  employing  poor  salespeople. 
"No  chain  is  stronger  than  its  weakest  link,"  and 
no  man  can  tell  how  much  a  poor  salesperson  costs 
the  store  that  employs  that  kind.  Certainly  it  is 

210 


GET  GOOD  SALESPEOPLE 

many  times  what  the  best  and  most  efficient  sales- 
person could  possibly  demand  or  get. 

The  store  that  has  the  reputation  of  paying  the 
highest  salaries  eventually  gets  the  best  people,  for 
it  becomes  the  ambition  of  all  earnest,  capable  sales- 
people to  get  a  good  paying  position  with  that  store. 
The  store  paying  the  highest  salaries  has  no  fear  of 
losing  its  good  people,  for  they  will  not  only  be  well 
paid  when  other  stores  come  after  them,  but  they 
will  not  want  to  take  a  chance  in  some  other  store 
that  wants  them  only  for  the  trade  they  can  bring 
because  of  the  fear  that  they  may  lose  the  short-time, 
big-pay  job,  and  then  can  never  come  back  to  the 
store  that  ALWAYS  pays  big  salaries. 

The  smart  merchant  always  holds  out  some  stim- 
ulus for  the  AMBITION  of  his  people.  The  sales- 
person that  is  not  ambitious  is  not  100  per  cent, 
efficient.  There  should  always  be  a  way  of  paying  a 
better  salary  to  the  person  who  shows  the  ability  to 
sell  more,  or  sell  it  with  more  profit.  I  once  asked 
the  Manager  of  the  famous  Bon  Marche,  in  Paris,  if 
other  stores  did  not  hire  away  their  good  people 
quite  frequently.  He  replied:  "That  is  impossible. 
They  cannot  afford  to  pay  them  any  more  than  we 
can,  if  they  are  good  people,  and  if  they  are  not  good 
we  are  glad  to  let  them  have  them.  We  never  lose 
any  people  that  we  want  to  keep."  The  Bon  Marche 
is  the  most  successful  retail  store  in  the  world.  Most 
of  its  people — managers  and  better  salespeople — are 
on  a  commission  basis. 

211 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Get  GOOD  salespeople,  and  KEEP  them  as  long  as 
their  efficiency  continues — against  all  offers  made 
for  them  elsewhere.  They  are  a  definite  ASSET  of 
your  store.  Get  rid  of  your  poor  salespeople— 
especially  of  the  poor  ones  that  are  being  paid  high 
salaries.  Some  good  salespeople  become  ruined  by 
prosperity.  They  are  the  worst  of  all.  Many  a  store 
is  dying  of  dry  rot  because  the  selling  force  is  out  of 
date,  following  the  pace  set  by  several  old  fogies 
getting  high  salaries  for  putting  on  airs,  and  there  is 
nobody  in  the  institution,  from  the  firm  down,  that 
has  nerve  enough  to  make  or  suggest  a  change.  So 
the  business  runs  along  on  the  money  made  in  the 
better  days,  when  the  firm  was  more  aggressive,  and 
the  old  fogies  were  young  and  ambitious. 

Get  the  old  fogies  out  of  your  organization.  If 
they  are  only  old  in  years,  and  still  trying  to  do  good 
work,  PENSION  THEM,  and  put  young,  active  people 
behind  your  counters.  A  new,  LIVE,  selling  organi- 
zation would  doubtless  be  able  to  pay  for  the  pension 
roll,  several  times  over,  if  well  managed,  and  the 
store  was  well  merchandised.  But  no*  organization 
and  no  amount  of  capital  can  long  afford  to  pay  the 
losses  that  come  to  the  store  employing  lazy  and  in* 
efficient  salespeople. 

Have  salespeople  in  your  store  with  personality 
that  people  like,  with  knowledge  of  their  merchandise 
that  people  respect,  with  earnestness  and  intelligence 
that  make  their  work  resultful,  with  the  ambition 
to  hustle  and  do  their  work  accurately,  and  you'll 

212 


GET  GOOD  SALESPEOPLE 

never  be  asked  to  pay  them  as  much  as  they  are 
worth. 

A  letter  which  was  received  by  Gimbel  Brothers, 
New  York,  illustrates  the  feeling  that  customers  have 
about  being  served  by  polite  and  intelligent  sales- 
people— and  the  gratitude  which  was  won  for  Gimbel 
Brothers  by  one  young  man  who  had  learned  the 
fundamental  lessons  of  real  salesmanship.  After 
replying  to  an  inquiry  received  from  the  firm,  this 
elderly  lady  continued  her  letter  as  follows : 

Now,  I  want  to  say  something  to  you.  There  is  a  young 
man — I  wish  I  had  his  number,  but  I  have  lost  it — he  is,  I  should 
say,  the  youngest  man  in  the  -  -  Department.  Never  have 
I  met  with  such  politeness  and  kindness  as  from  him.  He  al- 
ways remembers  me  by  name.  You  know  that  is  pleasant  to  a 
tired  woman  in  our  crowded  stores.  If  busy,  and  I  say  "I'll 
wait,"  he  gets  me  a  chair  and  makes  me  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible. 

I  sit  and  notice  him.  He  is  the  same  to  all  old  ladies  like 
myself,  or  the  working  girl  buying  for  dressmakers.  I  hope  he 
will  receive  his  reward.  As  I  surely  hope  Gimbel  Brothers  will 
for  their  great  politeness. 

The  writer  of  that  letter  will  not  soon  forget  that 
salesman  or  that  store.  She  will  always  want  to  go 
to  that  store  to  be  waited  on  by  that  young  man,  and 
that  young  man  has  become  one  of  the  VALUABLE 
ASSETS  of  the  institution  for  which  he  works.  If  the 
whole  store  organization  could  be  composed  of  young 
men  and  young  women  who  had  his  ability  and  tem- 
perament, what  a  wonderful  SELLING  POWER  it  would 
become. 

213 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

Certainly  there  can  be  no  reason  why  such  an 
organization  should  not  be  the  ideal  of  every  store- 
to  be  aimed  for  and  worked  for — sifting  out  the  in- 
efficient and  impolite  salespeople,  and  gathering  in 
the  polite  and  capable  workers  as  fast  as  they  can 
be  discovered.  Of  course,  there  are  many  things 
besides  MONEY  to  help  you  keep  your  people  with 
you:  such  as  KINDNESS  and  APPRECIATION  on  the 
part  of  the  Firm  personally  expressed  at  frequent 
intervals,  with  all  reasonable  increase  in  salaries,  and 

the  ABSOLUTE  ASSURANCE  of  a  PERMANENT  POSITION 

for  all  good  workers,  REGARDLESS  OF  ANY  SINISTER 
INFLUENCE  that  may  exist  on  the  part  of  managers, 
customers,  or  even  from  members  of  the  firm. 


214 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

MEETING  THE  COMPETITION  OF  THE  GREAT  MAIL 
ORDER  HOUSES 

When  David  went  out  after  Goliath  he  didn't 
hunt  up  the  armorer  that  outfitted  Goliath  so  that 
he  could  have  equal  weapons  with  which  to  meet  the 
notorious  giant.  He  armed  himself  with  his  familiar 
"sling"  and  a  stone  from  the  brook,  and  won  on  his 
skill  and  nerve. 

I  have  been  asked  many  times  how  the  smaller 
stores  are  to  face  the  enormously  increasing  business 
of  the  Mail  Order  houses:  for  there  exists  a  great  fear 
that  the  most  profitable  trade  will  soon  be  gobbled 
up  by  them.  For  this  reason  I  am  devoting  this  in- 
stallment to  this  subject — for  it  affects,  in  greater  or 
less  degree,  EVERY  STORE  IN  AMERICA  and  Canada. 
When  one  single  concern  will  soon  reach  the  mark  of 

a  HUNDRED  MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS  PER  ANNUM  it  is  Well 

to  consider  how  much  of  that  amount  of  sales  is  being 

TAKEN  FROM  YOUR  STORE. 

One  of  the  directors  of  this  big  concern  was  re- 
cently quoted  as  saying:  "Our  business  from  CITIES 
has  MORE  THAN  DOUBLED  recently,  without  any  soli- 
citation on  our  part."  This  he  attributes  to  the 

215 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

fact  that  Farmers  are  now  BUYING  HIGHER  GLASS 
MERCHANDISE,  which  has  a  special  appeal  to  City 
people.  He  also  states  that  the  January  Sale  of 
White  Goods  brings  in  close  to  TEN  MILLION  DOLLARS 
IN  A  SINGLE  MONTH  in  white  goods  alone. 

This  single  concern  has  six  MILLION  LIVE  customers 
who  buy  regularly.  Other  concerns  total  at  least 
as  many  more — or  ABOUT  HALF  OF  THE  ADULT  POPU- 
LATION OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  Yet  they  sell  very 
little  in  the  very  largest  cities  with  a  total  of  close  to 
twenty  millions  of  population.  Thus  it  is  reasonable 
to  estimate  that  HALF  of  YOUR  possible  customers  buy 
from  a  Mail  Order  house.  Isn't  that  a  FACT  worth 
giving  some  thought  to? 

Isn't  it  worth  while  to  get  acquainted  with  some 
one  in  your  Post  Office  who  can  tell  you  approxi- 
mately how  many  Big  Catalogs  come  to  your  city, 
so  that  the  truth  can  come  home  to  you?  Then  you 
should  have  the  catalogs  of  these  big  houses  on  your 
desk — to  study  the  kind  of  goods  that  are  being  ex- 
ploited— to  discover  what  the  bait  is  that  catches 
your  fish.  Perhaps  you  have  means  of  learning 
what  goods  are  being  shipped  to  your  city  by  these 
big  concerns.  Don't  call  it  "truck,"  for  anything 
that  people  don't  like  can  be  shipped  back  without 
a  cent  of  cost,  and  money  will  be  returned.  If  it  is 
truck,  people  want  truck.  The  storekeeper  seeking 
VOLUME  of  sales  sells  people  what  they  want,  not 
what  HE  likes. 

The  Mail  Order  business  grows  biggest  in  cities 

216 


THE  GREAT  MAIL  ORDER  HOUSE 

that  do  NOT  have  LIVE  LOCAL  STORES.  There  are 
several  facts  that  should  encourage  local  merchants: 
Mail  Order  houses — especially  the  biggest — NEVER 
SELL  GOODS  AT  A  LOSS,  and  rarely  without  fair  profit. 
The  Customer  always  pays  the  cost  of  delivery. 
The  Mail  Order  house  must  sell  from  words  and 
pictures  only.  Cash  is  demanded  with  order.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Local  Merchant  has  the  TRE- 
MENDOUS ADVANTAGE  of  BEING  ON  THE  SPOT.  People 

trust  him,  and  perhaps  can  get  "trusted"  by  him. 
He  knows  the  tastes  of  his  people — or  HE  OUGHT  TO 

KNOW  THEM. 

The  Mail  Order  man  says  that  the  tastes  of  the 
Farmers  and  their  wives  have  CHANGED  RADICALLY 
in  recent  years — so  they  are  selling  MUCH  BETTER 
MERCHANDISE  than  they  did  formerly — that  is  why 
city  people  like  it  better.  Perhaps  the  tastes  of  the 
people  in  YOUR  city  have  changed,  and  you  have  not 
discovered  it.  Perhaps  you  have  the  same  goods 
they  liked  some  years  ago,  and  are  wondering  why 
they  don't  buy  the  same  goods  now. 

I  don't  believe  the  best  mail  order  house  can  take 
business  from  the  WIDE-AWAKE  LOCAL  MERCHANT. 
He  has  too  many  definite  advantages.  He  has  (or 
should  have)  the  FRIENDSHIP  of  his  public.  He  has 
a  STORE  FULL  OF  GOODS  TO  SHOW  THEM — instead  of  a 
dull  book.  He  has  salespeople  who  should  be  able 
to  do  infinitely  better  SELLING  than  the  few  words 
and  pictures  in  the  book.  He  can  send  the  goods 
home  to  them  IMMEDIATELY — instead  of  their  having 

217 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

to  wait  a  week  or  more  to  get  them  by  mail — and 
the  delivery  is  FREE. 

David  was  invincible  against  the  giant  Goliath 
with  his  own  familiar  weapon — the  "sling" — because 
HE  KNEW  HOW  TO  USE  IT.  The  local  merchant  will 
be  equally  invincible  against  the  big  mail  order 
house  if  he  has  the  weapon,  REAL  SERVICE — and 
KNOWS  HOW  TO  USE  IT.  But  the  local  merchant  can- 
not win  out  on  old  methods  and  poor  stocks  marked 
at  high  prices.  The  mail  order  houses  will  WIPE 
OUT  the  inefficient  stores;  but  they  will  do  little 
damage  to  stores  that  are  ALIVE  to  the  needs  of  their 
public,  and  who  give  real  SERVICE  while  selling  GOOD 

MERCHANDISE  AT  RIGHT  PRICES. 

Get  the  catalog  of  the  biggest  Mail  Order  house, 
then  STUDY  THE  MERCHANDISE  as  carefully  as  you 
have  studied  the  goods  on  the  market  before  buying 
your  Fall  stocks.  Discover,  before  you  give  it  up, 
JUST  WHY  six  MILLION  American  people  are  buying 
ninety  million  dollars'  worth  of  this  goods  every  year, 
and  paying  delivery  charges  on  it.  Don't  decide 
that  they  buy  in  so  much  larger  quantities  than 
you,  and  have  factories  of  their  own,  and  can  always 
undersell  you. 

Remember  that  YOU  ARE  VITALLY  IMPORTANT  to 
the  manufacturers  whose  goods  you  sell,  and  re- 
member that  the  competition  of  the  mail  order  house 
is  quite  as  harmful  to  the  manufacturers  from  whom 
you  buy  as  it  is  to  you.  If  these  manufacturers  are 
to  continue  to  do  a  successful  business  they  MUST 

218 


Mf 

*WP 

9M    ' 

««9 

orders  TO* 

t"     B  if  AIM* 

—  5  items, 

496%  Of  all 

9An 

2UO 

::::::::::::      order? 

m' 



1C  A     • 

idu 

' 

iii 

e*10"2W% 

.1*9 

jy«  *?TT./O 

too           •  - 

-    11-f«5'  115% 

75   .            

1  '-Jr  •li'T/P 

f   :    16-20,5.5% 

21-25  1  V7n  

i  sollHIHIIIIHl 

Over  25.  3% 

. 

• 

16 

S 

. 

•  . 

- 

0~         &       10       15      20        We  thin  25  Item* 

Number  of  orders  classified  by 
VumbewfJOtem^ 

This  chart  shows  the  tendency  toward  few 
items  for  almost  half  the  orders  (the  figures 
on  the  long  side  represent  the  number  of  orders; 
on  the  bottom  the  number  of  items) 


THE  GREAT  MAIL  ORDER  HOUSE 

COOPERATE  FOR  YOUR  SUCCESS — f or  you  are  necessary 
to  each  other.  If  the  mail  order  house  takes  YOUR 
trade  in  your  territory  it  also  takes  THEIR  TRADE  in 
your  territory. 

So,  when  you  look  through  the  mail  order  catalog, 
and  find  goods  sold  at  prices  that  you  cannot  meet, 
go  to  your  manufacturers  and  tell  them  what  you 
have  to  meet,  and  what  THEY  MUST  MEET,  unless 
they,  too,  want  to  lose  sales  in  your  territory.  Get 
all  the  other  booklets  and  leaflets  sent  out  weekly, 
monthly,  and  bi-monthly,  by  this  house.  Study 
them  all  with  care.  When  you  are  able  to  compete 
with  the  offerings  you  will  be  beating  competition 
as  well  as  the  mail  order  house.  The  manufacturers 
who  realize  that  their  own  success  depends  upon  your 
success  will  help  you  continuously. 

Some  stores  that  I  have  heard  about  are  already 
combining  their  interests  to  take  the  entire  outputs 
of  certain  factories,  and  to  establish  others  by  which 
means  all  will  benefit  by  the  combined  distribution  of 
all.  The  Local  Store  has  TREMENDOUS  SELLING 
ADVANTAGES  over  the  mail  order  houses,  but  it  has  to 
solve  the  BUYING  and  MANUFACTURING  PROBLEM. 

The  merchant  who  sees  this  question  as  being 
VITAL  to  his  future  success  should  make  a  tour  of 
several  states,  interviewing  other  merchants  on  the 
question  of  pooling  interests  for  buying  and  manu- 
facturing. Then,  when  a  dozen  or  more  merchants 
decide  to  get  together  on  this  matter,  select  manu- 
facturers making  the  right  kind  of  goods,  and  make 

219 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

a  deal  with  them  to  take  their  entire  output,  provided 
the  proper  concessions  in  prices  are  made  for  elim- 
inating their  cost  of  selling.  In  this  manner  the 
smallest  store  in  the  combine  will  be  able  to  buy 
goods  as  cheaply  as  the  biggest  mail  order  house,  and 
the  association  will  tend  to  make  all  the  stores  more 
efficient  in  many  other  ways.  The  stimulus  of  such 
activity  and  such  an  aggressive  fight  will  be  healthy 
for  the  stores  in  every  department  of  promotion  and 
selling. 


220 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

DISCOVER  YOUR  STORE'S  WEAKNESSES — THEN 
ELIMINATE  THEM 

Every  store — even  the  most  successful — has  serious 
weaknesses.  Everybody  else  in  the  community  knows 
them  before  the  Firm.  This  is  because  people  like 
to  say  "nice  things"  when  speaking  to  the  owner  of 
the  store  in  person.  Then,  the  next  man  that  the 
merchant's  friend  meets  hears  some  such  remark  as: 
"Smith  has  a  pretty  good  store,  but  why  doesn't 
somebody  tell  him  about  those  toughs  that  drive 
his  delivery  wagons,  or  about  those  girls  that  would 
rather  talk  about  'last  night'  to  some  other  girl  than 
wait  on  a  customer?  " 

The  merchant  who  thinks  his  store  is  as  good  as 
what  people  tell  him,  personally,  about  it,  is  relying 
on  very  poor  authority.  But  it  is  VITAL  to  a  store's 
Success  and  Growth  that  the  Firm  should  KNOW 
its  REPUTATION.  It  is  infinitely  more  important  to 
know  what  CRITICISMS  are  being  made  about  a  store 
than  to  hear  the  good  things  that  make  vigilance 
relax  and  tempt  a  merchant  to  become  SATISFIED 
with  things  as  they  are.  Of  course,  it  is  not  an  easy 
matter  to  learn  what  people  REALLY  THINK  about  a 
store.  Naturally  your  salespeople  can  always  pick 

221 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

up  gossip,  but  they  don't  like  to  repeat  to  the  man- 
agers or  the  Firm  the  BAD  things  they  hear,  because 
they  think  they  might  be  censured  for  disloyalty. 
They,  too,  will  tell  only  the  good  things — until  they 
are  educated  to  know  differently. 

Shakespeare  was  probably  the  greatest  portrayer 
of  human  nature  that  the  world  has  ever  known.  In 
"Twelfth  Night"  he  makes  the  Clown  say:  "My 
friends  flatter  me,  and  make  an  ass  of  me:  but  mine 
enemies  tell  me  flatly  that  I  am  an  ass,  and  thereby 
do  I  profit  in  knowledge  of  myself."  So  we  must 
learn  the  opinions  that  our  enemies  or  our  competitors 
have  of  us  if  we  really  want  to  get  some  truth  about 
our  business  and  our  methods.  The  thing  that  your 
competitor  criticises  you  for  is  a  good  thing  to  give  a 
lot  of  consideration  to. 

The  best  way  to  get  another  store's  opinion  of  your 
store  is  to  hire  a  salesperson,  now  and  then,  and  ask 
plain  questions  and  request  plain  replies.  You  should 
also  frequently  invite  your  own  salespeople  to  tell 
you  what  they  hear  in  gossiping  with  the  employees 
of  other  stores.  But  the  best  way  of  all  to  get  GOOD, 
EARNEST,  HONEST  CRITICISM,  worthy  of  serious  study, 
is  by  ADVERTISING  FOR  IT.  Come  out  frankly  in  the 
newspaper  and  say : 

We  Strive  to  Give  Perfect  Service 
But  our  People  are  Human,  and  Fall  Short. 
We  want  to  have  a  still  better  store  and  better 
service. 

222 


DISCOVER  YOUR  STORE'S  WEAKNESSES 

Won't  you  HELP  us  by  TELLING  us  when  any- 
thing goes  wrong  ? 

If  goods  are  not  just  what  you  thought  they 
were — PLEASE  TELL  us. 

If  salespeople  are  not  POLITE  and  EFFICIENT- 
PLEASE  TELL  us. 

If  goods  are  not  Delivered  promptly  and  in 
good  order — PLEASE  TELL  us. 

If  our  Prices  are  not  right — PLEASE  TELL  us. 

Whenever,  for  ANY  CAUSE,  you  feel  dissatisfied 
with  this  store,  in  any  way — PLEASE  TELL  us. 

For  Something  is  WRONG  that  we  WANT  TO  CURE. 

But  we  can't  know  it  until  our  friends  TELL  us 
ABOUT  IT. 

We'll  THANK  YOU  QUITE  SINCERELY  if  you  have 
any  thought  on  your  mind  of  what  this  store 
SHOULD  DO  to  be  A  BETTER  STORE,  if  you  will  take 
a  few  minutes  to  write  and  tell  us  WHAT  YOU  THINK 
is  WRONG,  and  what  we  might  do  TO  MAKE  THIS 

A  MORE  SATISFYING  STORE  TO  YOU. 

Such  an  Advertisement  will  do  a  DOUBLE  SERVICE  : 
it  will  bring  a  certain  amount  of  letters  that  will  un- 
questionably tell  you  what  some  of  the  critical  gossip 
is  about  your  store,  and  you  will  know  what  people 
are  saying  about  you,  and  what  you  should  further 
investigate  and  see  if  a  cure  is  demanded.  It  may 
start  you  toward  some  very  big  improvement,  and 
it  may  uncover  loose  management,  or  careless  sales- 
manship, or  even  dishonesty  that  may  not  now  be 

223 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

suspected,  and  which  may  be  causing  you  a  large 
loss.  Also,  quite  as  directly,  such  an  advertisement 
will  make  the  public  respect  and  commend  the  Store 
that  is  so  frank  as  to  invite  criticism. 

Even  people  who  have  REAL  cause  for  complaint 
will  be  more  reasonable  when  they  are  reminded  that 
salespeople  and  other  employees  are  HUMAN  and  liable 
to  mistakes.  It  really  puts  the  RESPONSIBILITY  for 
the  CURE  OF  THE  MISTAKE  right  up  to  the  customer 
who  fails  to  make  a  complete  report  of  it.  After 
you  hear  criticisms  it  is  simply  SUICIDAL  not  to  act 
upon  them  and  ELIMINATE  the  WEAKNESSES. 

If  your  salespeople,  in  whole  or  in  the  smallest 
part,  are  inclined  to  be  "Fresh"  in  manner  or  care- 
less they  MUST  be  better  TRAINED,  or  your  business 
will  not  grow  as  it  might.  If  your  Delivery  Depart- 
ment is  inefficient,  or  if  the  drivers  are  rude  or  care- 
less, they  may  lose  customers  for  you,  and  damage 
endless  amounts  of  merchandise.  If  they  are  com- 
plained about  a  thorough  INVESTIGATION  should  be 
made.  If  your  Credit  Office  makes  people  angry, 
wrhen  they  want  to  open  accounts,  you've  only  got 
HALF  A  CREDIT  MANAGER.  A  bulldog  is  all  right  in 
the  Treasury,  but  he  should  only  be  let  into  the 
Credit  Office  AFTER  YOU  ARE  SURE  that  the  applicant 
for  an  account  is  a  horse  thief  or  second-story  man. 
Until  that  fact  is  established  your  Credit  Man  should 
be  a  SOLICITOR  of  business.  But  mighty  few  are, 
and  THAT  may  be  one  of  your  weaknesses. 

Perhaps  your  salespeople  are  too  solicitous  of  busi- 

224 


DISCOVER  YOUR  STORE'S  WEAKNESSES 

ness.  Maybe  they  ANNOY  people  by  demanding 
that  they  look  at  this  and  that.  People  don't  like 
to  go  into  a  store  like  that.  Perhaps  your  managers 
are  officious  and  lack  TACT  when  they  address  cus- 
tomers. Maybe  they  would  much  rather  tell  cus- 
tomers what  they  WILL  NOT  do  for  them  than  what 
they  will  be  pleased  to  do  for  them.  A  lot  of  stores 
are  plagued  by  such  stiff-necked  managers,  who 
are  able  to  impress  the  firm  with  their  importance 
for  years  after  customers  learn  to  hate  the  sight  of 
them.  But  how  is  the  "Poor  Firm"  to  know  that 
the  men  who  represent  THEM  are  so  cordially  HATED? 

I  believe  so  thoroughly  in  a  Firm  knowing  just 
how  customers  FEEL  about  a  store  that,  if  I  were  the 
owner  of  a  business,  I  would  write  a  PERSONAL  LETTER 
once  every  year,  to  all  customers  of  my  store,  thank- 
ing them  for  their  patronage,  and  expressing  my  hope 
that  the  store  and  service  were  always  pleasing  to 
them.  Then  I  would  enclose  a  stamped  envelope, 
directed  to  me,  PERSONALLY,  and  invite  CONFIDENTIAL 
CRITICISMS  of  my  business.  The  IMPRESSION  made 
would  be  excellent — establishing  a  more  CORDIAL 
feeling  between  the  Firm  and  the  individual  custom- 
ers, and  the  CORRESPONDENCE  would  bring  scores  of 
mighty  valuable  suggestions  for  the  correction  of 
weaknesses  in  your  business  and  for  improving  store 
Service  and  Methods. 

Right  in  this  connection  comes  the  importance  of 
KNOWING  every  time  an  account  is  CLOSED;  and  in 
DISCOVERING,  at  the  earliest  moment  possible,  when 

225 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

any  customer  is  CEASING  TO  USE  a  Charge  Account. 
Hundreds  of  good  customers  do  not  take  the  trouble 
to  "kick"  when  things  go  wrong.  They  simply 
STOP  BUYING  in  your  store,  and  go  to  your  competitor. 
If  you  have  your  Books  carefully  watched,  and  have 
a  report  sent  to  the  Office  of  the  Firm,  EVERY  MONTH, 
showing  a  list  of  the  names  of  Charge  Customers 
who  have  NOT  USED  THEIR  ACCOUNTS  THAT  MONTH. 
this  matter  may  be  caught,  and  the  right  sort  ol 
letter  written,  and  SIGNED  BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  FIRM, 
and  the  Customer  REGAINED — and  it  will  pay  to 
PASS  A  LIBERAL  CREDIT  SLIP,  to  make  the  customer 
who  has  a  grievance  feel  that  you  want  her  trade,  and 
are  ready  to  right  all  wrongs.  The  fact  that  the 
customer  has  not  made  any  complaint  is  the  best 
assurance  that  the  complaint  that  is  harbored  is 
REAL. 

No  Community  is  BIG  ENOUGH  for  a  store  to  afford 
to  lose  a  customer  for  either  a  real  or  fancied  wrong 
done  by  the  store.  For  the  customer  that  leaves 
with  a  complaint  will  always  influence  her  circle 
of  friends;  and  one  circle  after  another,  as  years  go 
by,  will  make  a  large  current  of  public  opinion.  It 
is  best  to  control  that  opinion  at  the  earliest  moment 
possible,  and  retain  the  customer,  too,  at  any  reason- 
able cost. 


226 


CHAPTER  XL 
PUT  YOURSELF  INTO  YOUR  ADVERTISING 

One  of  the  most  valuable  assets  of  a  store  is  its 
INDIVIDUALITY.  Every  store,  with  any  character 
or  strength  of  policy,  soon  establishes  a  Personality 
that  is  generally  recognized,  and  which  has  a  very 
strong  business  appeal  to  people  who  like  that  partic- 
ular kind  of  a  store.  I  believe  most  heartily  in  the 
Advertising  which  MOST  FULLY  EXPRESSES  THE  STORE. 
The  BEST  Advertiser  is  NOT  the  one  who  writes  the 
most  beautiful  words,  uses  the  biggest  adjectives, 
or  who  has  the  advertisement  most  artistically  ar- 
ranged. 

Fine  advertising  may  ACTUALLY  MISREPRESENT 
the  store — very  greatly  to  its  disadvantage.  It  does 
just  as  much  harm  to  EXAGGERATE  THE  IMPRESSION 
of  a  store  as  to  exaggerate  the  values  of  the  goods 
advertised.  To  make  people  THINK  a  store  is  one 
thing,  and  then  have  them  come  and  get  the  proof 

that  it  is  SOMETHING  ENTIRELY  DIFFERENT,   is  down- 

right  misrepresentation  that  will  always  do  harm. 

The  Strong  and  Clever  Advertising  Man  is  the 
one  who  can  MOST  TRULY  ABSORB  AND  EXPRESS  the 
Store  or  the  Commodity  that  he  tries  to  exploit. 

227 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

For  this  reason  the  members  of  the  Firm  should 
always  take  a  direct  personal  interest  in  the  Advertis- 
ing of  the  store.  Not  to  INTERFERE  with  the  routine 
work,  which  may  be  very  well  done,  and  which  is 
always  as  much  of  a  job  as  can  be  gotten  through 
with  by  a  live  man  who  is  not  interfered  with  in  his 
work — but  the  Firm  should  be  constantly  THINKING 
about  some  expression  of  Policy,  of  Hospitality,  of 
Service,  that  would  make  a  good  advertising  story, 
and  he  should  WRITE  a  memorandum  of  it,  and  send 
it  to  the  advertising  man,  to  make  use  of,  after  it 
was  properly  edited  or  rewritten,  for  newspaper  use. 
The  Owner  who  adopts  this  policy  of  THINKING 
about  things  to  put  into  the  Advertising  will  soon 
learn  that  he  is  thinking  a  lot  more  about  his  business 
than  he  ever  did  before,  and  that  the  thinking  is  in 
a  valuable  direction.  Nothing  so  much  stimulates 
a  GOOD  Store  Policy  as  the  thinking  about  what  the 
public  would  like  to  have  you  say  and  do.  It  bright- 
ens the  merchandising  mind  just  to  have  this  con- 
tinuous mental  exercise.  It  is  this  DAILY  THOUGHT 
about  the  advertising  that  develops  an  advertising 
man,  and  the  clever  storekeeper  will  not  permit  this 
privilege  to  be  entirely  abrogated  by  some  one  else. 
If  the  Firm  is  confined  to  the  financing  of  the  busi- 
ness, half  of  the  enjoyment  of  merchandising  is  lost 

—and  FAR  MORE  THAN  HALF  OF  THE  VALUE  of  a  LIVE 

Merchant  is  kept  out  of  the  business. 

Develop  in  your  own  mind  a  live  Store  Policy. 
Then  EXPRESS  IT.     Don't  insist  on  your  own  words. 

228 


YOUR  ADVERTISING 

Not  one  merchant  in  a  hundred  knows  how  it  is  best 
to  SAY  a  thing.  Convey  to  your  advertising  man  the 
MEANING  that  you  want  to  express;  then  let  him  write 
the  story.  If  you  do  not  have  a  man  that  can  do  it 
to  your  satisfaction,  try  some  newspaper  writer. 
But  THINK  for  your  business,  and  get  your  person- 
ality into  the  advertising — then  it  will  be  DOUBLY 
YOUR  STORE.  Another  way  to  IMPRESS  YOURSELF 
on  your  Advertising  is  by  MERCHANDISING  YOUR 

ADVERTISING  OFFERINGS  in  PERSON. 

The  personal  interest  of  the  Firm  in  the  offerings 
that  are  made  in  the  newspaper  is  FAR  TOO  RARE. 
This  is  why  so  much  advertising  comes  to  be  done  in 
a  perfunctory  way — half  hearted — just  to  get  the 
department  represented.  When  this  condition  ar- 
rives the  Advertising  isn't  worth  printing.  But  the 
buyer  may  be  glad  to  have  it  done  this  way,  for  he 
doesn't  realize  what  he  is  losing,  and  it  makes  the 
work  so  much  easier  for  him  than  it  would  be  if  he 
had  to  GO  OUT  AND  HUSTLE  to  get  something  REALLY 

WORTH  ADVERTISING. 

I  have  actually  known  of  Firms  who  thought  their 
Advertising  Managers  were  weak  and  inefficient  BE- 
CAUSE THEY  WERE  CONSTANTLY  ASKING  FOR  BETTER 
MERCHANDISE  TO  ADVERTISE.  YeS,  they  WOUld  actu- 

ally  take  sides  with  the  weak  and  lazy  buyer  when  the 
earnest  Advertising  Man  pointed  out  the  VITAL  IM- 
PORTANCE of  having  REAL  Bargains  to  tell  about. 

Some  merchants  seem  to  think  that  all  the  clever 
Advertising  Man  needs  is  a  good  dictionary  and  a 

229 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

flowing  vocabulary  of  strong  adjectives.  And  a  lot  of 
them  are  paying  REAL  MONEY  to  weak  men  for  get- 
ting up  advertising  that  SOUNDS  BIG,  but  which  is 
surely,  and  perhaps  not  very  slowly,  KILLING  the 
business  that  permits  such  misrepresentation.  There 
is  scarcely  a  store  on  the  continent  that  is  wrorth 
advertising  at  all  that  would  not  provide  strong, 
compelling  advertising  material  if  the  advertising 
man  would  simply  EXPRESS  THE  STRONG  FEATURES 
of  the  business  as  they  actually  exist.  This  DIRECT, 
HONEST  expression  of  the  Store  and  the  Owner  of 
the  business  will  make  far  better  advertising  than 
the  finest  story  the  fanciful  writer  could  prepare, 

The  members  of  the  Firm  MUST  THINK  and  WORK 
for  the  Advertising  to  attain  largest  success.  They 
must  THINK  in  Merchandise,  in  Service,  in  Courtesy, 
in  Hospitality — and  must  see  that  the  whole  organi- 
zation operates  as  they  think.  No  Policy  is  worth 
the  paper  it  is  written  on  if  it  fails  to  be  carried  out 
by  every  manager  and  other  employee.  The  Firm 
must  WORK  on  the  Merchandise  and  the  Service, 
The  Bargains,  upon  which  the  next  day's  or  the  next 
week's  business  depends,  should  be  a  matter  of  very 
serious  concern  with  the  Owner  of  the  Business. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Altman  wras  one  of  the  most  re- 
spected, most  dignified,  most  aristocratic,  and  most 
successful  merchants  that  the  country  has  ever 
known.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  his  business  he 
had  time  to  gather  one  of  the  greatest  collections  of 
Art  on  the  American  Continent.  Yet  I  am  told 

230 


YOUR  ADVERTISING 

that  he  PERSONALLY  PASSED  UPON  the  purchase  and 
the  presentation  of  EVERY  SPECIAL  OFFERING  made 
in  his  Advertising.  And  I  have  never  known  of 
any  store  where  the  response  was  quite  so  immediate 
and  strong  as  to  the  Special  Offerings  made  by  the 
Altman  Store.  He  was  keenly  ALIVE  to  the  impor- 
tance of  SECURING  and  RETAINING  the  Public  Con- 
fidence, and  in  my  fourteen  years  as  Advertising 
Manager  of  competing  stores  in  New  York  I  never 
knew  of  but  ONE  time  that  the  offering  was  not  as 
stated.  That  time  the  buyer  misled  the  Firm,  and 
was  discovered  and  discharged  the  same  week. 

The  supreme  position  in  public  confidence  held 
by  the  Altman  Store  to-day  is  a  commentary  upon 
the  Policy  of  the  Owner  of  the  Business  putting 
HIMSELF  into  his  advertising — not  by  words,  in  B. 
Altman' s  case,  but  in  STRONG,  HONEST  Merchandising 
DEEDS.  He  might  delegate  the  work  of  buying,  but 
he  never  delegated  the  right  to  FINALLY  PASS  UPON 
the  merchandise  to  be  advertised  as  long  as  his 
health  and  his  presence  in  the  store  permitted  him  to 
do  this  VITAL  work  himself. 

Have  good,  strong  men  around  you.  TRUST  them; 
give  them  opportunity  to  develop  their  own  initiative, 
but  SUPPORT  and  STRENGTHEN  them  by  the  creating 
and  carrying  out  of  a  strong,  honest  merchandising 
policy  that  is  LIVED  UP  TO,  because  you  are  forcing 
YOURSELF,  as  well  as  your  entire  organization,  to 
carry  it  out  in  every  detail. 


231 


CHAPTER  XLI 

AN  EQUITABLE  BONUS  SYSTEM 

I  believe  that  a  BONUS  System  is  the  most  effectual 
plan  to  continuously  STIMULATE  the  efforts  of  Sales- 
people. I  consider  a  Bonus  Plan  superior  to  a  Com- 
mission, because  the  payment  of  the  lump  sum  oi 
ONE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS,  just  before  Christmas,  will 

MAKE    A    VASTLY    BIGGER    IMPRESSION    On    the    SaleS- 

person  than  TEN  Dollars  a  month  in  commissions, 
It  is  better,  too,  for  the  salesperson,  because  the  small 
sum,  paid  monthly,  is  frittered  away  as  it  comes,  be- 
cause it  comes  to  seem  just  like  a  part  of  the  salary; 
but  the  one  hundred  dollars,  coming  all  at  one  time, 
seems  like  a  TREMENDOUS  LOT  OF  MONEY,  provides 
funds  for  Christmas  uses  just  when  needed,  and 
gives  the  opportunity  to  deposit  a  nice  part  of  it  in 
the  Savings  Bank — especially  if  this  suggestion  is 
strongly  made  by  the  Firm  when  the  check  is  given. 
Most  Bonus  Plans  that  I  have  known  about  have 
lacked  equity  in  dealing  with  the  various  grades  of 
employees  and  the  results  variously  secured  by  them. 
The  Firm  will  agree  upon  a  lump  sum,  or  a  percentage 
upon  the  increased  sales  that  they  are  willing  to 
appropriate,  but  they  seem  to  always  fall  short  of 

232 


AN  EQUITABLE  BONUS  SYSTEM 

giving  COMPLETE  consideration  to  the  feelings  of  the 
individual  salespeople. 

I  consider  it  a  gross  injustice  to  divide  a  Bonus  on 
the  basis  of  Salaries  paid — giving  the  larger  propor- 
tion to  the  people  drawing  the  largest  salaries.  The 
man  getting  the  highest  salary  naturally  has  the 
least  chance  of  making  a  large  increase,  because  he 
has  already  presumably  reached  a  high  volume  of 
sales,  or  he  would  not  be  getting  the  highest  salary. 
But,  while  conceding  that  he  has  the  hardest  work  to 
do  to  make  an  increase,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
HE  gets  paid  for  his  extra  volume  in  HIS  REGULAR 
PAY  ENVELOPE.  If  he  expects  to  INCREASE  his  BIG 
PAY  he  must  INCREASE  his  big  SALES.  When  the 
salesperson  of  lower  salary  comes  nearer  to  him  in 
volume  he  should  be  coming  proportionately  nearer 
to  him  in  SALARY  as  well.  Salary,  plus  the  Bonus, 
should  be  in  pretty  accurate  proportion  to  the  sales 
made  by  each. 

A  BONUS  should  always  be  based  upon  the  IN- 
CREASED SALES  of  the  WHOLE  Business.  The  Bonus 
should  be  divided  ONLY  among  the  Salespeople  who 
make  INCREASES  in  their  sales,  or  who  show  direct 
results  toward  that  increase  by  other  work  allied  to 
the  selling.  Those  ELIGIBLE  to  share  in  the  Bonus 
must  have  been  employed  by  the  Firm  for  at  least 
one  complete  Fiscal  Year.  This  is  necessary  in 
order  to  show  the  comparison  of  sales  as  well  as  to 
reward  permanent  employees. 

In  addition  to  the  Main  Bonus  Plan  there  should 

233 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

be  provided  a  MINOR  BONUS  to  prevent  discouraging 
disappointments  to  people  whose  INDIVIDUAL  efforts 
show  INCREASES,  even  when  the  Main  Plan  fails,  and 
the  store,  as  a  whole,  has  not  made  an  increase.  The 
MINOR  BONUS  should  provide  that  in  case  the  Store, 
as  a  whole,  does  not  show  any  increase,  the  INDIVIDUAL 
who  shows  an  increase  of  10  per  cent,  or  more  shall 
be  entitled  to  ONE  HALF  of  the  amount  that  he  would 
draw  if  the  entire  store  had  shown  the  increase  which 
he  individually  shows.  If  his  increase  is  less  than 
10  per  cent,  he  shall  draw  no  bonus. 

Of  course,  the  Firm  may  say:  "The  store  went 
behind,  so  there  is  no  bonus  at  all,"  but  why  should 
the  earnest  people  who  have  MADE  INCREASES  IN 
SPITE  OF  A  BAD  YEAR  and  less  customers  in  the  store 
not  gain  something  for  efforts  that  kept  the  store 
from  going  still  farther  into  the  hole?  If  they  are 
NOT  encouraged  for  their  work  by  at  least  HALF  ol 
what  they  individually  earned  they  will  lose  heart, 
and  can  never  take  the  same  interest  in  a  Bonus 
Plan  for  the  future. 

New  salespeople  do  not  deserve  to  share  in  the 
Bonus  Plan.  They  can  be  told  what  is  in  store  for 

them  AFTER  THEY  ARE  YEAR-OLD  EMPLOYEES.        That 

makes  a  stimulus  for  them  to  try  to  DESERVE  a 
PERMANENT  position.  Thus  a  very  material  number 
of  employees  is  not  eligible  to  share  in  the  Bonus- 
making  the  sums  larger  that  are  to  be  distributed  to 
those  that  earn  them. 

My  Suggestion  for  an  Equitable  Bonus  Plan  is  this: 

234 


Si 

v*  v 

fl^  %^l 

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£3 

^3  n^ 
P   O 

ai 
11 


^5^ 


^ 
II 


"2 -S 
•si 
>> 


s? 


AN  EQUITABLE  BONUS  SYSTEM 

Determine  upon  a  percentage  of  the  INCREASED 
Sales  for  the  Year  that  you  will  appropriate  for  the 
BONUS.  Let  us  figure  that  it  is  to  be  10  PER  GENT. 
of  the  INCREASE.  This  Bonus  to  be  divided  among 
the  Salespeople  who  show  an  INCREASE  in  their  sales 
for  the  Fiscal  Year — or  preferably  from  December 
15th  to  December  15th — so  that  the  Bonus  may  be  a 
Christmas  present.  The  division  to  be  in  ratio  to  the 
PERCENTAGE  OF  INCREASE  made  by  each  person. 

To  ILLUSTRATE  the  Plan  let  us  suppose  that  a 
Store  doing  a  MiLLioN-Dollar  Business  and  employ- 
ing 500  Salespeople  has  made  an  INCREASE  of 
$130,000  under  the  Plan  we  are  describing.  Ten 
per  cent,  of  this  increase  allows  $13,000  for  distri- 
bution under  the  Bonus  Plan.  Say  that  100  of  the 
salespeople  have  been  employed  for  less  than  a  year. 
They  are  not  eligible.  One  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
salespeople  have  not  made  any  increase  in  their  sales. 
Deducting  the  250,  who  are  not  eligible,  we  have 
250  salespeople  to  divide  the  $13,000  among.  When 
we  list  the  percentages  of  the  salespeople,  we  find; 

POINTS 

47  Salespeople  who  made  a  gain  of  7  per  cent.  .  .  329 

20     "      "   "  "  "  "   8  "  "   .  .  160 

40     "      "   "  "  "  "   9  "  "  .  .  360 

40     "      "   "  "  "  "  10  "  "  .  .  400 

15     "      "   "  "  "  "  ii  "  "  .  .  165 

28     "      "   "  "  "  "  12  "  "  .  .  336 

10     "      "   "  "  "  "  13  "  "  .  .  130 

30     "      "   "  "  "  "  14  "  "   .  .  420 

20     "      "   "  "  "  "  15  "  "  .  .  300 

250     " 2,600 

235 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

We  figure  each  salesperson's  percentage  as  so 
many  points.  Hence,  47  people  each  making  7  points 
makes  a  total  of  329  points.  Twenty  people  each 
making  8  points  makes  a  total  of  160  points,  etc., 
as  shown  in  the  last  column  of  figures  above.  In  all, 
2,600  points  were  made.  Dividing  the  $13,000  by 
2,600  shows  that  every  point  earns  $5.  So  the  sales- 
person who  makes  7  per  cent,  increase — a  7-point 
gain — earns  seven  times  five  dollars,  or  $35.  The 
salesperson  making  14  per  cent,  increase  earns  14 
times  $5,  or  $70,  or  just  twice  as  much  as  the  one 
making  only  7  per  cent,  increase. 

Under  this  Plan  a  salesman  getting  $25  a  week, 
and  who  sold  $25,000  the  previous  year,  increasing 
5  per  cent,  and  selling  $26,250  this  year,  would  only 
get  a  bonus  of  $25.  But  his  Total  earnings — Salary 
and  Bonus,  would  be  $1,325.  Another  salesman, 
getting  $10  a  week,  who  sold  $10,000  the  previous 
year,  increasing  25  per  cent,  and  selling  $12,500  this 
year,  would  get  a  well-deserved  bonus  of  $125— 
making  his  total  earnings  $645,  or  a  little  less  than 
half  those  of  the  $25  salesman,  while  selling  a  pro- 
portionate amount  of  goods.  How  obviously  UNFAIR 
would  it  be  to  divide  the  Bonus  in  the  proportion  of 
salaries — giving  the  $25-a-week  man  TWO  AND  A  HALF 
TIMES  as  much  bonus  for  a  5  per  cent,  increase  as  the 
younger  clerk  got  for  a  25  per  cent,  increase  while 
working  for  40  per  cent,  of  the  other  man's  salary. 

The  above  Plan  insures  every  one  of  getting  the 
part  of  the  bonus  which  he  really  EARNED.  If  any 

236 


AN  EQUITABLE  BONUS  SYSTEM 

salaries  are  out  of  proportion  they  should  be  made 
right,  in  the  Manager's  Office,  according  to  sales 
actually  made.  They  should  not  be  permitted  to 
DISTORT  JUSTICE  in  the  Bonus  Plan.  If  some  sales- 
people are  required  to  do  special  service  that  com- 
pels them  to  lose  sales  they  should  be  provided  for 
in  some  other  way.  Each  salesperson  MUST  DEPEND 

EXCLUSIVELY    UPON    HIS    OWN    EFFORTS    to    EARN    his 

proportion  of  the  Bonus,  or  some  will  LOAF.  If  all 
are  given  an  ARBITRARY  proportion  of  the  INCREASE 
of  the  Store  AS  A  WHOLE  there  will  be  a  fat  distri- 
bution among  people  who  have  NOT  EARNED  the  re- 
ward. And  the  including  of  these  undeserving  ones 
will  diminish  the  amounts  secured  by  the  energetic 
and  efficient  salespeople. 

Any  Bonus  or  Commission  Plan  which  does  NOT 
make  salespeople  compete  with  each  other  to  get 
customers,  and  to  sell  them  the  utmost  they  can, 
is  a  very  poor  stimulant.  It  is  up  to  the  Managers 
to  see  that  nothing  disorderly  is  done  in  this  com- 
petition: but  eagerness  to  wait  upon  people  has  never 
been  counted  a  fault  in  good  storekeeping.  Of  course, 
percentages  must  be  on  NET  Sales.  If  sales  records 
are  not  kept  the  policy  of  keeping  such  records 
should  be  adopted  at  once. 

Nothing  in  storekeeping  tends  so  much  to  increase 
the  business  as  the  redoubled  efforts  of  your  sales- 
people. For  it  is  easier  to  sell  10  per  cent.  MORE  to 
each  customer  that  comes  into  your  store  than  it  is 
to  get  10  per  cent,  more  customers  to  come  in.  Sales- 

237 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

persons  are  only  HUMAN,  and  they  get  in  a  rut  until 
they  are  stirred  up;  and  there  are  probably  not  TWO 
PEOPLE  IN  A  MILLION — no  matter  how  small  or  how 
!i:rge  their  incomes — who  cannot  be  stimulated  to 
GREATER  EFFORTS  by  the  opportunity  to  WIN  A  PRIZE 
that  is  outside  of  their  pay  envelopes. 

But  DON'T  PUT  THE  SALESMAN  WHO  WORKS  HARD 
on  a  par  with  the  LAZY  MAN  WHO  LOAFS.  For  often 
the  worst  loafer  is  the  fellow  who  is  always  the 
busiest  man  in  sight  when  the  boss  is  around.  But 
the  other  salesman  KNOWS  the  loafer,  and  if  the  loafer 
gets  just  as  much  Bonus  as  he  does,  when  his  increase 
was  double  that  of  the  loafer,  he's  going  to  worry 
about  it — and  it  is  NOT  JUST.  Give  every  man  the 
INCREASE  HE  EARNS,  then  the  Bonus  Plan  will  enlist 
the  earnest  enthusiasm  of  all  your  people  who  deserve 
to  be  rewarded — and  the  others  should  be  gotten  rid 
of  anyhow. 


CHAPTER  XLII 
THE  JULY  CLEARANCE  SALE 

July  has  become  recognized  as  the  Clearance 
Month,  by  the  majority  of  stores,  for  several  very 
definite  reasons:  first,  the  normal  expectation  of 
business  in  July  is  small  everywhere,  and  trade  must 
be  stimulated.  Second,  most  stores  take  Inventory 
on  July  31st,  and  good  judgment  suggests  the  lower- 
ing of  stocks  to  smallest  possible  figures.  Third,  it 
prevents  relaxation  and  sluggishness  in  your  people, 
keeps  them  keyed  up  to  business,  and  prevents  the 
public  from  forgetting  your  store,  and  gives  splendid 
opportunities  to  make  friends  who  will  come  back 
when  new  things  are  wanted  in  the  Fall. 

The  "July  Clearance  Sale"  should  begin  on  the 
Monday  following  July  4th,  and  should  be  continued, 
without  any  let-up  in  interest  and  active  promotion, 
until  the  night  of  the  31st.  A  short  spurt,  for  a  few 
days,  will  not  give  you  opportunity  to  get  the  com- 
plete good  out  of  your  advertising,  and  such  a  plan 
would  destroy  the  one  selling  incentive  that  amounts 
to  anything  in  this  usually  dull  month. 

Perhaps  it  has  been  the  habit,  in  your  city,  to  let 
things  slide  in  July,  because  there  isn't  any  business 

239 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

anyhow.  If  this  is  true,  you  have  a  wonderful  op- 
portunity this  year:  for  you  can  make  your  store  a 
humming  beehive  while  your  competitors  are  having 
midsummer  dreams.  It  is  YOUR  opportunity  to 
make  them  look  like  novices  while  YOU  run  away  with 
the  trade  and  show  people  what  a  wide-awake  store 
yours  is.  On  the  other  hand,  if  July  Sales  are  the 
rule  in  your  city,  your  thought  must  be  on  how  to 
make  yours  so  much  bigger  and  stronger  than  all  the 
others  that  the  public  will  forget  that  the  other  stores 
exist.  Exactly  this  thing  can  be  done  if  you  get 
yourself  thoroughly  worked  up  to  the  idea,  and  then 
enthuse  your  managers  and  all  your  people — get  the 
summer  sluggishness  out  of  them,  and  STIMULATE 
them  to  do  something  bigger  and  more  sensational 
than  your  city  has  ever  known. 

First  thing  is  to  PROVIDE  AMMUNITION  for  the 
Campaign.  START  EARLY.  Dig  into  your  stocks 
and  bring  out  everything  that  OUGHT  to  be  sold  if 
there  is  any  chance  at  all  of  it  being  sold  in  July. 
Plan  NOW  what  you  are  going  to  do  with  it.  Where 
you  find  sizes  and  colorings  broken  order  the  missing 
sizes  and  colors  at  once.  DON'T  NEGLECT  THIS 
POINT.  Don't  be  stingy  and  starve  your  sale,  and 
KILL  YOUR  SUCCESS.  Do  IT  NOW,  or  you  will  be  too 
late  for  your  event.  Give  your  public  a  REAL  SUR- 
PRISE by  having  COMPLETE  stocks  in  YOUR  Sale. 

Every  store  has  the  broken-lot  idea — the  bad 
colors  and  odd  sizes.  Make  a  genuine  sensation  by 
having  all  sizes  and  full  color  assortments.  You'll 

240 


THE  JULY  CLEARANCE  SALE 

find  it  very  easy  TO  FILL  IN  WHAT  YOU  WANT  at  bar- 
gain prices  in  June.  Then  the  jobbers  and  the 
manufacturers  are  all  THINKING  ABOUT  YOU,  right 
now.  They  are  wondering  whether  they  are  going 
to  get  your  orders  for  Fall,  and  they  will  be  mighty 
glad  to  accommodate  you  with  what  you  want  at 
prices  that  will  enable  you  to  MAKE  A  PROFIT  at  the 
Sale  prices.  Having  COMPLETE  sizes  and  color  ranges 
will  MULTIPLY  YOUR  SALES  because  people  WILL  GET 
WHAT  THEY  WANT  instead  of  going  home  disappointed. 
It  is  a  tremendously  damaging  thing  to  disappoint 
people — even  in  a  bargain  sale.  You'll  find  plenty 
of  people  in  the  big  crowds  that  will  come  to  carry 
off  your  odd  sizes  and  odd  colors — AND  LIKE  THEM, 
because  they  will  be  just  what  a  certain  percentage 
of  people  do  exactly  want. 

MAKE  BIG  SALES.  GET  RID  OF  ODD  LOTS.  MAKE 
A  MULTITUDE  OF  FRIENDS  FOR  YOUR  STORE.  But 
you  must  have  your  nerve  with  you.  Don't  be  a 
piker  with  your  old  goods.  Remember  that  it  is 
NOT  WORTH  anything  like  the  price  you  paid  for  it. 
It  is  only  worth  what  you  can  get  for  it — PLUS  the 
FRIENDSHIP  that  you  can  make  it  create  for  you  by 
the  bargains  you  give  to  people  in  July. 

Remember  this:  July  Bargains  must  be  REAL, 
or  your  Clearance  Sale  will  be  DEAD  before  it  starts. 
Don't  fool  yourself  into  thinking  that  the  chief  thing 
you  have  to  do  is  to  get  up  an  advertisement.  THAT 
is  the  way  that  hundreds  of  stores  make  tremendous 
failures  out  of  their  special  events,  and  destroy  their 

241 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

reputations  for  truthfulness,  as  well  as  all  the  con- 
fidence of  the  public  in  their  merchandise  as  well  as 
in  their  advertising.  If  some  buyers  would  develop 
HALF  the  ingenuity  to  do  REAL  merchandising  that 
they  use  in  trying  to  get  stale  bargains  past  the  Ad- 
vertising Manager,  they  would  be  wonders  and  would 
make  a  great  success  of  your  July  Clearance  Sale. 
No  Bargain  that  HAS  EVER  BEEN  OFFERED  BEFORE, 
at  the  same  price,  is  good  enough  for  the  July  Clear- 
ance Sale.  This  MUST  be  a  LAW  for  your  merchandis- 
ing and  Advertising.  Don't  leave  it  all  to  your 
buyers  and  managers.  The  FIRM  must  take  a  hand 
in  order  to  authorize  certain  reductions  that  will  make 
definite  sensations. 

KEEP  IN  MIND  THE  FACT  that  this  is  not  to  be  a 
One-Day  Sale — it  is  to  last  FOUR  WEEKS,  and  there 
must  be  Special  Offerings  EVERY  DAY  all  that  time. 
This  means  large,  continuous,  earnest  effort  on  every- 
body's part.  Little  lots  of  goods  will  make  one-day 
offerings,  but  you  must  not  depend  upon  them.  Big 
figures  in  Sales  cannot  be  made  that  way.  There 
must  be  plenty  of  BIG  ammunition,  and  you  must  plan 

tO  BUY  A  THOUSAND  DOLLARS*  WORTH  OF  NEW  GOODS 

to  carry  out  ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  old  goods 
with  it. 

Remember  that  HALF  of  the  success  of  the  Sale  is 
going  to  depend  upon  the  ENTHUSIASM  that  you 
inspire  in  your  salespeople.  You  should  hold  a 
meeting  and  tell  them  what  you  are  going  to  do.  Get 
suggestions  from  them  if  you  can.  Let  them  know 

242 


THE  JULY  CLEARANCE  SALE 

what  REAL  Bargains  you  are  going  to  offer.  You'll 
find  they  will  become  enthusiastic  when  they  see  the 
real  thing  being  done,  and  you  will  find  that  enthu- 
siasm is  impossible  if  you  try  to  put  over  the  old 
stuff  on  the  public.  You  never  can  fool  your  own 
salespeople,  no  matter  how  much  you  think  you  can. 

A  great  big  successful  July  Clearance  Sale  is  the 
most  marvellous  TONIC  that  a  store  can  have.  It 
creates  tremendous  public  interest  in  your  store  while 
it  is  going  on.  It  cleans  out  all  the  old  stocks,  so 
that  you  are  able  to  buy  everything  fresh  and  new  in 
the  Fall.  It  gives  you  MONEY  TO  USE  instead  of 
goods  that  continue  to  depreciate  in  value.  It 
makes  people  talk  to  their  neighbors  about  the  won- 
derful bargains  that  they  got  at  your  store — and  this 
is  the  best  of  all. 

Now  why  not  make  up  your  mind  to  GO  THE  LIMIT 
this  time — do  the  REAL  THING,  and  make  one  of  the 
greatest  merchandising  successes  that  your  store  has 
ever  known.  Shake  up  your  City,  and  give  it  a  real 
sensation;  add  to  your  store's  reputation  for  being 
wide-awake,  and  lay  the  foundation  for  A  VASTLY 

BIGGER  and  FAR  MORE  PROFITABLE  TRADE  NEXT  FALL 

and  WINTER. 


243 


CHAPTER  XLIII 
BEWARE  WHEN  THE  CROWS  CALL,  "Our  OF  STOCK" 

I  shall  never  forget  the  impressive  way  that  Mr. 
Ogden  (Managing  Partner  of  the  New  York  Store  of 
John  Wanamaker)  used  to  warn  his  buyers  about  this 
dangerous  condition.  He  started  his  talk  by  saying 
that  he  had  heard  the  croaking  ravens,  all  over  the 
store,  crying,  "Out  of  stock — Out  of  stock."  Cus- 
tomers come  to  your  counters,  in  full  confidence  that 
the  store  of  their  selection  will  have  the  goods  they 
want,  only  to  be  told,  "We  are  just  out  of  that." 
After  they  have  heard  the  same  statement  several 
times  at  different  counters  they  are  ready  to  go 
home  or  to  your  competitor.  And  they  are  ready 
to  say  that  they  are  always  upset  and  provoked  when 
they  go  to  your  store — because  you  are  always  out  of 
everything. 

It  makes  no  difference  how  well  you  have  met  their 
requirements  on  a  hundred  different  items  if  you  are 
out  of  two  or  three  things  that  they  have  a  right  to 
expect  to  find  in  any  good  store.  Buyers  seem  to 
get  accustomed  to  being  told  by  salespeople  that  they 
are  out  of  certain  things — they  get  hardened  to  it, 
and  don't  realize  what  far-reaching  harm  is  being 

244 


THE  CROWS  CALL,  "OUT  OF  STOCK" 

done  BY  DISAPPOINTING  THE  CUSTOMER.  The  buyer 
thinks  mostly  in  dollars  and  cents  sold.  If  he  loses 
the  sale  of  25  cents  for  two  collars,  size  15|,  he  thinks 
that  is  nothing  in  the  day's  business.  He  knows  he 
has  plenty  of  sixteens  and  too  many  seventeens  and 
fourteens. 

He  can't  realize  that  the  man  went  right  past  his 
competitor's  store  to  buy  those  collars  from  him,  and 
that  he  had  to  walk  back  a  block  or  two  to  get  them, 
that  he  got  very  mad  about  it,  and  thought  nothing 
but  what  a  careless  store  yours  was  to  be  out  of  his 
size.  AND  THE  NEXT  TIME  HE  DOESN'T  PASS  BY  YOUR 

COMPETITOR — HE    STOPS    AND    BUYS    HIS    SHIRTS    AND 

UNDERWEAR  THERE.  And  the  story  he  tells  his  wife 
about  you  may  cause  her  to  think  SHE  also  may  waste 
her  time  by  going  to  your  store.  YES,  my  friend, 
it  is  as  bad  as  THAT. 

You  remember  the  battle  that  was  lost  for  want  of  a 
horse-shoe  nail,  of  course.  Well,  I  have  seen,  and 
so  have  you,  a  customer  leave  the  store — NEVER  TO 
COME  BACK — because  of  some  such  little  trifle,  to 
the  store,  that  was  magnified  mightily  in  the  cus- 
tomer's mind,  BECAUSE  THERE  WAS  A  TRAIN  TO 
CATCH,  or  because  the  purchase  was  to  be  made  in  the 
extra  three  minutes  the  man  had  before  he  had  to  get 
to  business.  Having  to  go  to  some  other  store — 
when  he  or  she  does  not  have  time  to  shop  around — 
THAT'S  THE  RUB.  That  is  what  kills  a  lot  of  customers. 

AND  DON'T  OVERLOOK  THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  THIS 
STORY.  Your  big  competitor  may  have  the  trade 

245 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

NOW:  but  you'll  have  it  some  day,  if  he  is  careless 
about  these  things  being  "out  of  stock,"  PROVIDED 
his  disappointed  customer  finds  that  YOUR  STORE 
is  NOT  out  of  stock.  Of  course,  there  is  ALWAYS  a 
limit  that  the  careful  merchant  must  put  on  his  stock. 
He  should  NEVER  have  more  stock  than  his  capital 
warrants.  In  fact,  he  should  never  use  ALL  his 
capital.  He  should  always  have  a  RESERVE  for 
emergencies — and  to  buy  GOOD  THINGS  that  CASH  can 
always  get. 

Every  store  has  TWO  CLASSES  of  merchandise  di- 
vided this  way. 

1.  Goods  in  CONSTANT  DEMAND — asked  for  daily 
— never  long  in  stock. 

2.  Goods  that  MUST  BE  SHOWN  to  be  sold — rarely 
specifically  asked  for  and  which  MAY  stay  in  stock 
for  a  year  or  more. 

The  clever  and  successful  merchant  sets  aside  a 
certain  amount  of  capital  as  he  discovers  necessary 
to  be  used  solely  TO  ALWAYS  MAINTAIN  FULL  STOCKS — 
ABSOLUTELY  COMPLETE — of  the  goods  in  "Constant 
Demand."  He  NEVER  lets  this  capital  be  encroached 
upon  by  the  demands  of  the  SLOW-SELLING  goods. 
When  he  begins  to  get  OVERSTOCKED  he  doesn't  stop 
buying  SUGAR  or  spool  cotton — he  goes  into  his  stock 
of  SLOW-SELLING  GOODS  and  gets  the  money  out  of 
them.  And  HE  STOPS  BUYING  GOODS  THAT  PEOPLE 
ARE  NOT  GOING  TO  DEMAND.  But  how  many  buyers 

246 


THE  CROWS  CALL,  "OUT  OF  STOCK'" 

— and  how  many  MERCHANTS — STOP  BUYING  EVERY* 
THING  when  the  stock  sheets  look  bad? 

How  on  earth  are  you  going  to  EVER  sell  the  goods 
on  which  you  are  overstocked  if  you  let  your  store 
run  out  of  the  things  that  bring  people  into  your 
store?  This  seems  perfectly  obvious  and  simple,  but 
I  have  never  known  a  store  where,  when  stocks  got 
too  big,  the  cry  did  not  quickly  come,  "Out  of  stock 
— Out  of  stock — We'll  have  it  in  a  few  days — maybe 
to-morrow."  And  then  the  store's  reputation  gets 
one  savage  blow  after  another — AND  THE  FIRM 
DOESN'T  KNOW  ANYTHING  ABOUT  IT — and,  while 
the  sales  are  less  than  they  should  be,  maybe  nobody 
realizes  it — and  nobody  knows  why.  But  THERE  is 

A   MAN   DOWN   THE   STREET   THAT   KNOWS   WHY.      And 

he  gets  very  happy.  HE  is  YOUR  COMPETITOR,  and 
discovers  that  YOUR  customers  have  to  come  to  his 
store  to  get  the  things  they  want.  And  if  he  is 
clever  he  sells  them  a  lot  of  things  they  didn't  think 
they  wanted.  AND  MAYBE  HE  KEEPS  RIGHT  ON  SELL- 
ING THEM  THINGS. 

You  took  a  day  off  TO  DRIVE  YOUR  CUSTOMERS 
INTO  HIS  STORE,  and  he  found  a  way  to  make  them 
come  back.  Look  out  for  these  "DAYS  OFF" — the 
fatal  days  when  your  store  is  "OUT  OF  STOCK." 

In  New  York  we  think  we  have  the  shrewdest  and 
cleverest  buyers  in  the  world — at  least  they  are  paid 
the  biggest  salaries  in  the  world.  But  the  firms  do 
not  trust  them  to  keep  up  their  stocks.  Comparison 
organizations  are  maintained  TO  SHOP  IN  THEIR 

247 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

OWN  STORE,  to  see  whether  stocks  are  continuously 
complete;  because  New  York  firms  realize  that  even 
the  best  buyers  grow  lax  in  this  matter  which  is  so 
VITAL  TO  THE  STORE'S  SUCCESS.  The  Firm  MUST  see 
that  careful  financing  of  the  stocks  does  not  cauise 
any  lack  of  COMPLETENESS  in  stocks  of  CONSTANT 

DEMAND.  DON'T  DRIVE  YOUR  CUSTOMERS  INTO  THE 
STORE  OF  YOUR  COMPETITOR. 


248 


CHAPTER  XLIV 
WAYS  TO  KEEP  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  INTERESTED 

The  Store  that  can  devise  ways  of  stimulating 
Salespeople  to  sell  more  goods,  BETTER  goods,  and 
to  GIVE  BETTER  SERVICE  to  customers  has  made  a 
long  step  toward  increasing  success.  We  all  like 
to  make  a  little  "velvet"  over  and  above  our  salaries. 
We  all  love  to  win  out  in  a  contest.  We  all  enjoy 
praise  and  congratulation.  I  believe  that  Mr.  Isaac 
Gimbel  does  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  good,  in 
stimulating  his  people,  by  the  enthusiastic  way  in 
which  he  will  go  up  to  a  man  or  woman  who  has  done 
something  well,  and  shake  them  by  the  hand  and  con- 
gratulate them  on  the  fine  thing  that  they  have  done. 

So  I  think  that  the  FIRST  and  most  valuable  way  to 
keep  up  the  interest  of  salespeople  in  their  work  is  to 

SHOW     PERSONAL     APPRECIATION     TO     THEM     by      the 

Firm's  personal  word  and  hand-shake  for  work  well 
done,  whether  it  happens  to  be  one  day's  splendid 
sales  record,  a  big  month,  a  big  year — or  just  one 
notably  efficient  or  thoughtful  act  noticed  by  cus- 
tomer, manager,  or  firm.  If  salespeople  can  be  made 
to  realize  that  what  they  do  is  NOTICED,  not  merely 
for  the  chance  to  scold  and  rebuke  them,  but  to 

249 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

CONGRATULATE  AND  PRAISE  THEM,  they  will  be  more 
keen  to  earn  such  commendation  and  reward.  Just 
as  sugar  catches  more  flies  than  vinegar  so  praise 
does  infinitely  more  to  stimulate  good  work  than 
scolding  can  do  to  eliminate  bad  work.  Yet  this  is  a 
lesson  that  all  managers  learn  very  slowly. 

Set  the  standard  of  praise  and  congratulation  your- 
self; impress  it  upon  your  managers  and  buyers,  and 
see  what  a  rapid  change  it  will  make  in  the  spirit  of 
your  people.  Then  I  suggest  that  you  set  aside 
certain  weekly  prizes  to  be  given  to  people  who  do  the 
best  work  in  various  ways.  Five  Dollar  Gold 
Pieces  are  sufficient,  in  most  cases,  and  $25  a  week 
may  be  enough.  In  small  stores  one  prize  a  week, 
or  even  one  a  month,  will  do. 

I  would  create  a  Committee,  composed  of  managers, 
buyers,  and  older  salespeople,  to  keep  watch  for 
deeds  of  exceptional  efficiency  or  thoughtfulness  and 
make  note  of  the  salesperson  or  other  employee, 
with  the  facts  about  the  act.  Then,  at  the  end  of  the 
week,  the  Committee  would  elect  the  winners  of  that 
week's  prizes.  Say,  one  for  best  Salesmanship- 
One  for  Politeness — one  for  Thoughtfulness — one 
for  Neatness — one  for  the  best  suggestion  for  Sell- 
ing, Merchandising,  or  Service  Improvement. 

I  would  suggest  a  Committee  composed  of  from  five 
to  fifty  members — according  to  the  size  of  the  store, 
this  Committee  to  be  appointed  for  ONE  MONTH  only 
—a  new  Committee  to  be  appointed,  by  the  Firm  or 
General  Manager,  for  every  month,  the  list  of 

250  * 


KEEP  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  INTERESTED 

members  of  the  Committee  to  be  an  absolute  secret 
from  everybody  but  the  person  appointing  them 
and  the  various  individuals  composing  it  at  the  time. 
The  acts  for  which  reward  would  be  considered  would 
only  be  such  as  would  be  either  seen  or  heard  about 
by  the  members  of  the  Committee — except  that  any 
communications  received  from  customers  commend- 
ing employees  should  be  handed  over  to  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  by  the  General  Manager  or 
the  Firm. 

While  this  Committee  would  be  selected  by  the 
Firm  or  General  Manager,  it  would  be  composed  of 
the  workers  of  the  organization,  and  all  awards  would 
be  made  absolutely  by  the  vote  of  the  members  of  the 
Committee — the  voting  power  of  all  members  being 
absolutely  the  same.  Then,  as  the  Committee  would 
be  changed  entirely  every  month,  no  charge  of 
favoritism  could  be  made.  Of  course,  under  this 
system — as,  indeed,  under  any  system — many  splen- 
did acts  and  accomplishments  might  fail  of  recogni- 
tion because  not  actually  seen  by  or  reported  to  a 
member  of  the  Committee.  This  is  one  of  the  ex- 
pected by-products  of  this  whole  plan. 

The  habit  of  doing  good  work  can  never  be  lost, 
for  though  the  individual  making  the  honest  effort 
may  miss  the  prize  during  the  entire  year,  he  is  un- 
questionably making  himself  more  efficient,  and  is 
bound  to  secure  an  increase  in  salary  or  a  well-de- 
served promotion. 

The  Committee  should  meet  at  the  end  of  each 

251 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

week,  and  compare  notes  about  what  acts  and 
achievements  have  been  noted  or  reported.  These 
notes  should  be  read  in  this  meeting,  and  all  members 
of  the  Committee  should  vote  by  ballot  for  the 
person  whose  act  seems  to  appeal  most  strongly  to 
each  in  each  of  the  classes  for  which  prizes  have  been 
allotted.  Persons  receiving  the  largest  number  of 
votes  in  each  class  should  be  presented  with  their 
prizes  in  as  prominent  a  way  as  the  Firm  can  ar- 
range— to  make  a  spectacular  feature  of  it — and  the 
names  of  the  Winners  in  each  class  should  be  POSTED 
in  some  prominent  place,  where  they  will  remain  on 
view  to  employees  during  the  coming  week,  when  the 
next  list  displaces  them. 

If  some  one  individual  by  thoughtful,  tactful,  or 
aggressive  work,  can  make  himself,  or  herself,  be- 
come noticed  for  efficiency  two  weeks  or  three 
weeks  or  more,  in  succession,  such  superlative  work 
should  enable  him  to  win  prizes  continuously.  This 
is  not  likely  to  become  a  serious  problem,  but  such 
efficiency  would  deserve  the  exceptional  reward — 
and,  of  course,  AN  INCREASE  OF  SALARY  by  the  Firm. 
When  the  Committee  is  made  up  by  the  Firm  or 
General  Manager,  each  person  chosen  should  be 
sent  for  and  instructed  to  keep  the  fact  of  his  or  her 
membership  on  the  Committee  an  absolute  secret. 
He  or  she  should  be  told  just  what  to  watch  for: 
Courtesy,  Activity,  Neatness,  Pleasant  Manners, 
Prompt  Approach  of  Customers,  Language  used  to 
Customers,  Care  in  Writing  Addresses. 

252 


KEEP  YOUR  SALESPEOPLE  INTERESTED 

The  Management  will  present  records  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Sales  and  Suggestions  made.  I  would 
consider  it  wise  to  make  announcement  once  in  a 
while,  in  the  Advertising,  to  let  the  public  know  that 
this  Contest  is  continuously  going  on  in  order  to 
improve  the  Store  Service.  Invite  them  to  write 
commendation  of  individual  salespeople  and  de- 
livery boys  when  they  feel  that  they  have  been 
particularly  well  served.  This  system  will  provide 
an  easy  way  to  say  "No"  when  a  demand  is  made 
for  increase  of  salary  by  a  person  who  does  not 
deserve  it.  There  will  be  no  recourse  from  the  fact 
that  his  or  her  name  has  not  been  recorded  as  a 
winner  of  an  efficiency  prize. 

There  should  be  a  Christmas  Purse  (Size  to  be 
determined  by  the  Firm,  according  to  conditions  in 
the  case)  for  the  person  who  has  been  the  Winner  of 
the  largest  number  of  Weekly  Prizes,  and  who  has 
thus  proven  of  greatest  value  to  the  store.  Perhaps 
a  Gold  Medal  might  be  thought  to  be  a  better  prize 
for  this  purpose.  But  I  consider  money  of  more 
value  to  people  who  are  working  on  small  salaries. 

After  all  is  done  I  consider  the  most  valuable 
factor  in  securing  faithful  and  efficient  work  from 
anybody,  in  any  occupation,  is  to  have  it  known 

THAT  THE  WORK  IS  BEING  NOTICED.      YOU  may  COn- 

demn  the  man  who  shirks  his  duty  when  his  boss 
is  not  looking,  and  you  can  easily  prove  that  the 
man  who  is  always  being  watched  or  spied  upon  will 
become  a  sneak;  but  we  are  all  very  much  the  same, 

253 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

and  Human  Nature  will  WORK  HARDER  for  a  word  of 
Praise  and  for  Public  Commendation  than  for  any 
other  reward. 

Too  many  businesses  are  run  on  the  principle  of 
cussing  out  the  negligent  people  and  punishing  peo- 
ple for  mistakes,  while  all  good  work  is  simply 
taken  for  granted,  with  the  feeling:  "That's  what 
you  are  paid  for."  Yet  every  merchant  knows  that, 
although  he  may  pay  his  people  well  all  year  round, 
he  can't  possibly  hire  any  large  percentage  of  people 
who  will  always  be  keen  to  do  their  work  well,  and 
who  will  be  polite  and  thoughtful  under  all  circum- 
stances. Still,  he  can't  discharge  them,  for  he  has 
found  that  he  can't  hire  100  per  cent,  efficiency  any- 
where. If  you  will  change  your  policy  to  one  of 
Praise  and  Reward  for  Good  Work  you  will  discover 
how  infinitely  stronger  the  Kind  Word  method  will 
prove. 

WTiatever  method  will  STIMULATE  your  people  to 
give  BETTER  SERVICE  and  give  more  thought  to  their 
work  is  bound  to  be  worth  far  more  than  it  costs. 
Start  NOW,  and  have  the  whole  scheme  working 
smoothly  by  the  time  the  new  season  begins,  and 
you  will  be  amazed  at  the  improvement  in  your 
business. 


254 


CHAPTER  XLV 

Is  YOUR  BUILDING  SELLING  AS  MUCH  GOODS  AS  IT 

MIGHT? 

Yes,  your  Building  may  be  a  very  good  salesman, 
or  it  can  kill  trade.  Some  merchants  appreciate 
this  fact,  and  make  tremendous  results  from  it. 
Others  never  think  of  it.  Gimbel  Brothers  were 
talked  about  all  over  the  Continent  for  the  "Merry 
Christmas"  electric  sign  that  they  put  all  over  the 
front  of  their  great  store  in  New  York.  It  cost  many 
thousands  of  dollars,  but  it  unquestionably  did  tre- 
mendous advertising  for  the  store.  Windows  are  the 
ordinary  source  of  selling  value  for  a  building,  but 
they  are  used  in  many  varying  ways. 

One  store  will  put  in  a  window  decoration  that  is  a 
work  of  art,  but,  while  it  gives  an  atmosphere  of 
refinement  to  the  store,  it  is  almost  repellent  to  thou- 
sands of  people  because  of  the  way  in  which  it  thun- 
ders "High  Prices"  to  every  one  who  views  it.  And 
it  has  no  selling  quality  at  all.  Such  windows  might 
have  value  if  put  in  once  or  twice  a  year,  but  no  store 
that  desires  middle-class  trade  can  afford  to  eliminate 
the  selling  quality  from  window  displays. 

The  one  thing  that  the  foreign  traveller  is  always 

255 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

impressed  with  is  the  fascination  of  store  windows  in 
Europe.  The  goods  are  arranged  so  alluringly  that 
they  pull  you  right  into  the  store  to  buy.  Some  of 
those  wonderful  Paris  shops  have  practically  all  their 
stock  in  the  windows;  they  make  their  windows 
do  the  most  of  the  selling.  Why,  one  of  the  biggest 
stores  in  New  York,  catering  to  the  middle-class 
trade,  will  not  put  a  price  in  the  windows.  This 
store  unquestionably  loses  several  millions  of  dollars 
a  year  in  sales  for  this  reason.  This  store  will  not 
put  a  price  ticket  on  Men's  Scarfs,  yet  Budd  will  do 
it;  and  Budd  has  the  swellest  Men's  Shop  in  Amer- 
ica. Yet  this  same  store  will  pile  its  main  aisle 
counters  with  $1  Blouses  and  a  lot  of  other  cheap 
goods.  Rank  inconsistency. 

The  window  decorator  whose  work  will  not  look 
refined  when  a  price  ticket  is  on  it  has  very  little 
art.  I  believe  in  beautiful  windows.  But  a  store 
is  not  an  Art  Gallery,  and  why  should  a  merchant 
be  ashamed  of  the  fact  that  his  merchandise  is  for 
sale?  Thousands  of  people  pass  the  store  windows 
who  may  never  go  inside.  They  must  get  your 
message  from  the  window  or  they  may  never  get 
it  at  all. 

I  believe  that  people  are  quite  as  eager  to  know  the 
prices  of  things  they  see  in  the  window  as  they  are 
to  see  the  designs  and  the  colorings.  And  the  store 
that  is  afraid  of  its  prices  is  always  a  second-rate 
store.  Goods  should  be  displayed  with  an  INTENSE 
EFFORT  to  make  them  SELL.  The  Decorator  should 

256 


SELLING  GOODS 

have  the  selling  instinct  as  keenly  as  the  advertising 
man,  or  he  is  only  50  per  cent,  efficient.  If  he 
merely  tries  to  make  artistic  windows  he  is  like  an 
advertising  man  who  seeks  to  make  pretty  advertise- 
ments. I  wouldn't  employ  either  of  them  a  day. 
The  price  figures  should  not  be  large.  The  printing 
should  be  very  neat.  Colors  should  not  be  used  on 
price  cards. 

Your  windows  should  be  made  to  INFORM  every 
passer-by  as  to  what  goods  are  sold  in  your  store. 
They  should  illustrate  as  many  different  varieties  of 
goods  as  possible  to  get  the  broadest  possible  interest. 
They  should,  at  times,  present  bargains — just  as 
your  advertising  does.  The  specials  should  alternate 
with  the  fine  and  beautiful  things.  Neither  should 
dominate  for  fear  of  giving  a  wrong  impression  of 
what  your  store  contains  and  the  character  of  your 
prices.  In  addition  to  the  actual  goods  shown,  I 
think  that  prominent  corner  windows  should  contain 
a  Framed  Bulletin — refined  in  style  and  well  kept 
— that  shows  each  day  a  list  of  the  important  events 
that  are  going  on  in  the  store,  so  that  "he  who  runs 
may  read"  whether  he  sees  your  advertising  or  not. 
Also,  that  he  may  be  REMINDED  of  the  Advertising, 
and  reminded  and  informed  that  your  Store  is  ALIVE 
every  day. 

The  clever  merchant  will  go  out  and  try  to  be  a 
stranger  to  his  store  every  once  in  a  while— to  view 
it  from  the  other  side  of  the  street,  to  see  how  the 
front  of  the  building  looks — repellent,  inviting,  dirty, 

257 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

or  clean.  He  should  watch  the  crowds  go  by  or  go 
in.  Notice  what  attracts  their  attention  most.  If 
people  rush  right  by  his  store  is  all  wrong — from  the 
point  of  view  of  what  the  Building  sells.  Perhaps  the 
Entrance  is  not  inviting.  Some  store  doors  look 
like  walls  to  keep  people  out.  Most  architects  just 
love  this  cold,  repellent  effect. 

The  ideal  Entrance  is  lined  with  windows  that 
literally  LEAD  PEOPLE  INTO  THE  STORE.  Many  an 
old  store  could  have  its  value  multiplied  by  chang- 
ing its  Entrance — to  make  it  more  inviting,  as  well 
as  easier  to  get  in  and  out.  I  believe  in  the  Entrance 
that  CAN  BE  SEEN,  and  which  is  marked  by  the  firm 
name.  The  modern  Marquee,  that  extends  out  over 
the  sidewalk,  is  the  best,  for  it  not  only  distinctly 
marks  the  Entrance,  giving  an  excellent  position  for 
the  name,  but  it  also  very  definitely  gives  protection 
to  people  while  raising  umbrellas  when  going  out 
into  the  rain. 

Then  you  must  value  the  ATTRACTIVENESS  OF 
LIGHT.  People  hate  gloom.  Merchandise  never 
shows  half  of  its  desirability  in  a  dark  store:  and  peo- 
ple soon  learn  to  ignore  the  store  where  the  manage- 
ment is  stingy  with  its  light.  Shaded  lights  are 
wonderfully  artistic,  but  they  kill  the  sale  of  mer- 
chandise. They  have  no  business  in  a  store.  Is 
your  name  and  your  business  prominently  posted  on 
your  building?  Is  there  any  way  to  make  a  land- 
mark of  your  building? 

Tremendous  value  may  be  gotten  from  the  top  of 

258 


SELLING  GOODS 

a  building  that  is  situated  to  be  seen  from  a  distance. 
A  Gilded  Ball,  a  figure  of  Mercury,  a  flagpole  with 
your  name  on  the  banner.  No  matter  what  it  is, 

SOMETHING    AS    DISTINCTIVE    AS    YOU    CAN    CONTRIVE, 

should  mark  your  building,  so  that  people  may  get 
some  feature  of  it  fixed  in  their  eye  as  often  as  pos- 
sible, and  from  the  greatest  distance  possible.  Have 
you  ever  noticed  your  SECOND-FLOOR  windows  from 
the  street,  or  from  the  other  side  of  the  street?  Plenty 
of  other  people  do.  But  what  do  they  see?  Do  your 
second-floor  windows  help  to  give  a  broader  idea  of 
what  you  sell  on  that  floor?  Or  are  the  windows 
shut  off  by  offices  or  workrooms?  They  should  be 
given  very  definite  SELLING  VALUE.  Blouses,  Mil- 
linery, Women's  Suits — all  could  be  seen  from  the 
street,  and  they  would  attract  attention  as  well  as 
make  your  store  look  more  attractive  to  women — 
inviting  them  to  come  up  to  the  second  floor. 

Your  Building  often  does  the  largest  part  of  your 
Neighborhood  selling,  and  you  may  not  realize  it. 
Probably  you  think  your  advertising  will  attract  all 
the  people;  but  don't  forget  that  thousands  of  people 
read  very  little  advertising  while  they  see  almost 
everything  that  goes  into  the  store  windows. 

Make  your  windows  TALK,  and  make  people  talk 
about  your  windows.  I  believe  most  firmly  in  the 
enormous  value  of  Windows  that  are  KEPT  BRIGHTLY 

LIGHTED   AT   NIGHT.      But   their   SELLING   POWER   Can 

be  increased  mightily  by  finding  a  way  to  TELL  IN 
THE  WINDOWS  EACH  EVENING  the  most  important 

259 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

facts  about  WHAT  is  GOING  ON  IN  THE  STORE  TO- 
MORROW. This  might  be  done  by  having  a  FRAMED 

COPY   OF   THE   ADVERTISEMENT   HI   the    Window;   but 

that  would  be  hard  to  read;  hence  the  suggestion  for 
a  Bulletin  of  the  important  Sales  and  Exhibitions, 
which  could  be  made  by  your  sign  writer  each  day 
from  the  headings  of  the  Advertisement. 

The  Window  which  does  the  most  effective  selling 
is  always  the  one  that  is  decorated  during  the  after- 
noon, or  between  the  hours  of  5  and  7  P.M.,  and  which 
exhibits,  when  the  curtain  rises  at  7  o'clock,  one  or 
more  lines  of  Special  Offerings  that  will  go  on  sale 
the  next  morning — with  a  well-worded  sign  telling 
the  facts  about  the  offering.  Hundreds,  yes,  thou- 
sands of  people  will  learn  to  watch  your  windows 
after  they  learn  that  such  is  your  policy;  and  even 
those  who  do  not  come  to  buy  the  goods  shown  will 
become  impressed  with  the  thought  of  what  a  LIVE 
STORE  yours  is,  and  they  will  remember  to  come  to 
your  store  when  they  do  have  things  to  buy. 

I  believe  that  the  firm's  name  should  be  in  every 
window.  This  is  particularly  important  where  stores 
are  near  to  each  other.  People  forget  where  they 
saw  things  unless  the  NAME  has  been  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  merchandise.  The  refined  and  artistic 
metal  plate  standing  in  each  window  takes  very 
little  space,  detracts  from  nothing,  gives  an  air  of 
dignity  to  the  window,  and  definitely  fixes  the  name 
of  the  firm  in  the  vision  WITH  the  merchandise  dis- 
played. And  it  is  GOOD  ADVERTISING  as  well  as  good 

260 


SELLING  GOODS 

business  to  get  your  name  before  the  eyes  of  people 
as  often  as  you  can  accomplish  it. 

Never  permit  people  to  be  UNCERTAIN  that  they 
are  looking  at  YOUR  store.  Have  your  name  on  the 
building  at  all  important  points.  Have  it  in  your 
windows.  Have  it  on  your  flagpole.  Perhaps  this 
will  help  you  to  be  more  watchful  that  your  Building 
LOOKS  INVITING  from  the  outside.  Have  Windows 
that  are  artistically  decorated,  but  never  forget 
that  their  main  province  is  TO  SELL  GOODS.  If 
the  Building  does  its  part  it  will  make  your  Adver- 
tising do  just  that  much  stronger  work,  and  the  com- 
bined results  will  be  most  gratifying. 


261 


CHAPTER  XLVI 
How  INVENTORY  HELPS  AND  HURTS 

I  wonder  how  many  stores  fail  to  get  any  real  help 
from  their  Inventory  Sheets.  My  experience  would 
indicate  that  NINETY-FIVE  PER  CENT,  of  the  stores 
never  really  analyze  the  tabulations  of  goods  that 
are  made  at  such  tremendous  effort.  They  get  the 
figures  of  the  total  stocks  in  each  department,  per- 
haps, and  then  they  figure  how  much  goods  they  have 
in  stock — sometimes  they  figure  the  shrinkage  that 
must  come,  and  sometimes  they  count  their  profits 
without  allowing  for  any  further  shrinkage  than  the 
ambitious  buyer  has  taken.  When  they  have  gob- 
bled up  the  grand  total  they  let  the  auditor  put  the 
Inventory  Sheets  away  in  the  safe,  and  turn  the 
buyers  loose  on  the  markets  again,  with  only  the  most 
superficial  guess  as  to  what  riff-raff  and  rubbish  com- 
prise the  stocks  that  make  up  the  Inventory  figures. 

One  thing  is  certain  in  most  aggressive  stores— 
every  dollar's  worth  of  staple  goods  that  can  be 
done  without  is  KEPT  OUT  OF  THE  STORE  until 
Inventory  is  over.  Every  stock  is  STARVED  to  the 
limit — often  to  the  exasperation  and  inconvenience 
of  the  people  who  depend  upon  that  store  for  their 

262 


HOW  INVENTORY  HELPS  AND  HURTS 

daily  supplies.  Inventory  figures  MUST  BE  SMALL. 
That  is  the  whole  law,  and  spool  cotton,  towels,  and 
muslin  will  sell,  so  down  go  the  staple  stocks,  and 
you  think  the  buyers  are  doing  good  work — while 
they  really  are  killing  off  your  customers.  For 
goodness'  sake,  don't  let  the  hope  of  little  figures  for 
Inventory  cut  down  your  bread-and-butter  stocks. 
Don't  drive  customers  out  of  your  store,  whether 
it  is  Inventory  time  or  not.  What  difference  does 
it  make  to  them  that  you  want  to  take  stock?  That 
is  entirely  YOUR  affair,  and  you  must  not  exasperate 
your  customers  for  the  purpose  of  making  your  fig- 
ures a  few  hundred  dollars  less. 

GET  OUT  THE  SLOW  STOCKS.  Cut  your  prices, 
and  hurry  out  the  stocks  that  are  NOT  WANTED,  and 
which  NEVER  WILL  BE  WANTED  at  their  present 
prices.  Don't  let  your  buyers  fool  you,  and  DON'T 
FOOL  YOURSELF.  If  you  want  to  cut  down  your 
stocks  do  the  pruning  where  it  WON'T  HURT  YOUR 
TRADE,  and  where  it  will  do  your  stocks  SOME  REAL 
HELP.  Fight  for  LITTLE  FIGURES  as  hard  as  you  can, 
but  cut  the  money  out  of  bad  stocks — stocks  that 
must  not  be  kept — stocks  that  have  lost  their  new- 
ness and  desirability.  Get  rid  of  them  QUICKLY— 
this  month — NO  MATTER  HOW  DEEP  YOU  HAVE  TO  CUT 
THE  PRICES. 

A  SMALL  Inventory  may  hide  a  very  bad  condition. 
A  "large"  Inventory  may  show  a  very  GOOD  condition. 
But  it  is  not  the  SIZE  of  your  Inventory  figures  that 
is  most  important.  Very  rarely  is  the  question  of  the 

263 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

SIZE  of  the  stock  vital.  The  REAL  Question  is: 
What  is  the  CONDITION  of  your  stock?  How  much 
of  the  goods  listed  is  SALABLE  at  the  prices  for  which 
it  has  been  taken  in  stock?  How  much  of  it  will 
have  to  be  marked  AT  HALF  PRICE  to  sell  it?  How 
much  of  it  has  been  laying  on  your  shelves  or  in  your 
stockrooms  for  two  years  or  more? 

It  is  vital  to  know  how  many  customers  are  coming 
in  every  day  and  asking  for  staple  goods  that  ARE 
NOT  IN  STOCK,  because  some  short-sighted  buyer  or 
merchandise  manager  is  trying  to  make  a  good 
showing  in  his  stock  figures.  What  right  have  you 
to  inconvenience  your  customers,  just  to  let  a  buyer 
show  twenty  dollars  less  on  his  stock  sheets?  Make  a 
law  that  everything  that  the  customer  has  a  right  to 
expect  to  find  in  your  stock  WILL  BE  THERE.  And 
make  your  buyers  cut  down  their  Inventory  figures 
by  selling  out  the  SLOW  STOCKS  that  have  no  business 
being  in  your  store. 

Have  a  CLEAN  Inventory,  but  don't  have  any 
STARVED  STAPLE  STOCKS.  Tie  up  a  little  capital 
there  in  order  to  tie  up  your  customers,  so  they 
won't  be  dealing  at  some  other  store  next  season. 
Be  very  guarded  about  future  buying  until  you  have 
CRITICALLY  STUDIED  the  Inventory  stock  sheets. 
Don't  take  the  buyer's  word  for  it  that  he  has  no 
bad  stocks.  SEE  THE  FIGURES.  Then  look  at  the 
goods. 

Most  buyers  have  hobbies.  They  just  love  to  buy 
certain  goods,  and  they  will  buy  them  over  again, 

264 


HOW  INVENTORY  HELPS  AND  HURTS 

even  if  there  is  a  big  stock  that  is  not  selling.  Then 
there  are  buyers  who  always  buy  staple  goods  last 

—AFTER    THEY    HAVE    EXHAUSTED   THEIR   CAPITAL   in 

buying  novelties.  The  merchant  should  forbid  their 
buying  a  dollar's  worth  of  novelties  until  stocks  are 
amply  provided  with  staple  lines.  Look  at  the 
Inventory  Sheets,  and  see  how  many  novelties  are 
sticking  in  your  stocks  from  the  last  season.  Show 
the  figures  to  the  buyers.  Then  put  these  doubtful 
goods  in  your  Clearance  Sale,  or  plan  for  a  great  big 
Dress  Goods  Remnant  Sale.  Don't  let  last  season's 
novelties  go  in  with  your  new  goods,  for  they  will 
kill  the  effect  of  the  new  goods. 

Several  weeks  spent  in  the  study  of  last  season's 
LEFTOVERS  will  pay  for  the  time  that  it  costs  many 
times  over.  It  is  by  the  serious  study  of  past  mis- 
takes that  we  learn  to  avoid  making  similar  mistakes 
in  the  future.  But  if  we  just  go  ahead  as  before, 
hoping  for  better  "luck"  next  year,  we  will  be  just  as 
badly  off  as  ever,  or  maybe  much  worse:  for  we  may 
be  piling  another  year's  leftovers  on  top  of  those  of 
the  year  before. 

Don't  let  yourself  get  hardened  to  the  sight  of  old 
goods  on  the  shelves.  Just  because  it  has  always  been 
there,  like  the  wart  on  your  nose,  is  no  reason  why 
bad  stock  should  be  put  up  with.  It  may  be  a 
dangerous  operation  to  amputate  the  wart,  but  it  is 
simply  merchandising  suicide  to  let  old  stock  kill 
your  trade — especially  if  the  capital  tied  up  in  it  is 
making  you  starve  your  stocks  from  the  goods  that 

265 


MANUAL  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STOREKEEPING 

people  are  asking  for,  and  which  they  have  to  go  to 
your  competitor  to  purchase. 

Get  out  the  BAD  STOCK.  Never  permit  your  store 
to  be  out  of  STAPLE  STOCKS.  Sell  everything  you 
possibly  can  in  the  July  or  January  Clearance- 
then  keep  right  at  it,  selling  other  slow  goods  and 
last  season's  goods  in  Energetic  Remnant  Sales. 
Make  last  season's  mistakes  teach  you  what  to  avoid 
in  your  future  purchases. 

Slow  stocks  are  the  death  of  profits.  Rapid  turn- 
overs make  the  successful  store.  Let  your  Inventory 
Sheets  be  the  Black  List  to  guard  you  from  putting 
your  capital  into  slow  goods  next  season.  Get  every 
dollar  out  of  your  old  stocks  that  you  can,  and  put 
it  into  LIVE,  desirable  goods.  Then  your  Sales  will 
grow  bigger,  people  will  like  your  store  better,  and 
your  profits  will  not  shrink  away  just  before  the  next 
Inventory. 


266 


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